


Do you believe the stories?

by Bounceberry88



Series: Wishin' and Hopin' [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Young Jesse McCree, sorry to crash any head cannons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-08-08 03:52:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16421912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bounceberry88/pseuds/Bounceberry88
Summary: Jesse McCree. He has a loving father, a nerdy sister, a brilliant group of friends, and his boss is his dad's bestie. But how did our favourite cowboy get to where he is? Whenever he talks about his past he gets such a lost expression... Well, here's whyThis fic is the sequel of my other fic,Out of the corner of your eye, you spot him-(shia labeouf), and even though it's a sequel it's set in the past??? but um you should probably read the other one first just to be safe, but I'm not forcing you or anything.Warning for fight scenes, and a lot of angst and unfortunately death in this fic. might make you cry, doesn't really matter if it doesn't, but just putting that out there.





	1. Ma

Rosita smiled at her neighbour, sorting the contents of her groceries. Fruit, sausages, bread, vegetables, milk, and plenty more. She had bought only the healthiest food, excluding a few packets of biscuits, incase bribery was needed to convince a certain someone to eat his greens.

“Si, Jesse is well. I am glad my son has a better life than I had. I trust Isobel is good?” She asked. This was one of the frequent friendly conversations Rosita got to have with her neighbour. She liked this town, it was small and quiet, and the people were kind. It was quite safe too, even with Deadlock members in the area. Rosita enjoyed her life here, with Jesse. She often wondered what it would have been like if she hadn’t had a child at all, never settled down and created a calm life for herself. She hadn’t had a plan for her life before Jesse, which did mean she was rather lost. Still, she had a lot more options when there was nobody to think of but herself. Rosita didn’t regret her decisions though, the life she had settled for would turn out to be the best in the long run.

Only four years old, Jesse was doing great. Much better than Rosita when she was his age. Back then, a lot of her family’s money had gone to her father’s hospital bills. He’d always had trouble with heart problems, and that had unfortunately passed on to his children, Rosita included. With health coming first, her family had never had luxuries that were taken for granted by most people. Rosita was actually quite proud that she could provide Jesse with opportunities she’d never gotten when she was young. The most recent one was whether or not he wanted grapes or an orange for lunch. Though insignificant to most, things like fresh fruit and working heaters were considered a blessing for Rosita. Of course, she knew her view would have been different if she had been raised with those things, like Jesse would be. It was nice that he had good friends too, Isobel was a very nice young girl, and her father was also very kind. Joe nodded as he spoke of his daughter, smiling.

“She’s good. Her teacher says she is doing very well in her lessons. I have no doubt your son will get similar grades to her, with how excited she is for him to join school. When did you say you would enroll him?” Joe asked, leaning on his spade. His denim overalls were worn, and the blue was a contrast to his brown skin, made darker by the sun from years of outdoor labour. Rosita normally stopped to chat with him every few days when she went to and from the market.

“As soon as he’s old enough. I’m glad he’ll already have a friend waiting for him when he gets there.” Rosita replied. Joe was a florist, he had a reputation for the prettiest plants in town. Rosita hadn’t grown up here, but everyone felt like family. It was a brilliant environment for Jesse to grow up in, despite the occasional disruptions from the Deadlock gang.

“That’s wonderful. Not long to go now, only a few months and he can hang out with Isobel everyday!” Joe said, grinning as Rosita giggled. Isobel was a sweet little girl who wore floral dresses. She had dark skin like her father, and long, beautiful black hair. She was Jesse’s best friend, which Rosita was very happy about.

“It will be excellent for him. I’ll go back to him now, I promised we would do painting.” Rosita said, picking up her bags of groceries. Saying her goodbyes to Joe, the woman wandered up the concrete path of her own property, silently noting she would have to get the lawn mown at some point. Rosita put down the grocery bags when she got to the door, pulling out her keys as she wondered what it would be like when Jesse was in school and she didn’t have to be home so much… 

~~

“Ah, Mijo, you are getting even better at your painting!” Rosita exclaimed, smiling at the easel Jesse’s art was on. Her son had painted a brightly coloured house on a sunny day. Rosita hadn’t known neon green roofs to be so stylish, but Jesse clearly thought it was brilliant, and that was fine with her.

“How do you paint so good, Ma?” Jesse asked. Rosita smiled gently at her son. She was so proud of him for all of his accomplishments. Her son was so enthusiastic, he always wanted to get better at everything.

“It took many years of hard work, Jesse. If you practice a lot and do your best to get better at painting, you can be the best in the world. It’s the same for anything else, too. You could even go to space if you wanted, Mijo. I believe in you.” Rosita sighed and sat down, deciding she was done painting for the day.

“Go wash your hands. You can help with dinner, but not if you’re covered in paint!” She said, giggling as Jesse raced down the hall, the tap turning on in the bathroom. Picking up the two canvases they had been painting, Rosita laid them on the desk to dry. Glancing at the poster on the wall, she was met with the picture perfect smiles of many great people. She admired those heroes and she had taught her son to do so as well. Overwatch had been around for so long and had done so many things to help bring peace to the world. Perhaps one day Jesse would be a part of the organization. Rosita hoped so.

~~

Cursing silently to herself, Rosita placed her hand on her chest. Her heart problems seemed to be starting up again, but it was hopefully just from sleeping wrong. Shaking her head as it faded slightly, she lifted up the stack of papers.

“Alright, Isaac! These are all ready to be delivered tomorrow morning.” Rosita called, walking into the office. She had to admit, working in the newspaper business wasn’t her ideal job, but since she did most of the work she got enough to pay the bills. Another good thing was that she had plenty of free time once she finished fixing the layout of the articles, printing everything, putting each paper into a waterproof bag, stacking them up and carrying them into the office for pickup the next morning. It wasn’t a difficult job if you knew how to do it properly.

Apart from that, Rosita sometimes sold her paintings for extra money. She had sold one to almost everyone in town, whether they wanted to give it away as a gift for relatives, or get a family portrait, or even just so they could have something nice to put in the living room. No matter the reason, people seemed to quite like Rosita’s paintings, and that allowed her to have extra money for christmas, easter, Jesse’s birthday, a nice outfit she saw, or just savings she’d probably need one day. She was pretty smug about it to be honest, as her family had never supported her love of art. They often told her it was a waste of time. Well, they were clearly wrong. She hadn’t talked to them for years though. They didn’t actually know she had a son. She was thirty-six, she didn’t have to tell her family what she was doing anymore. Thank god for that.

“Great! Brilliant work as always.” Isaac said, picking up his phone to type a message to someone as Rosita put down the pile of Newspapers. She nodded, smiling.

“I’ll see you tomorrow! Remind Bethany the both of you are always welcome to come round for dinner!” Rosita said, picking up her coat. She frowned at the pain in her chest as she stretched, but it lessened after a moment.

“I will! Adiós, Rosita!” Isaac called as the door closed. Sighing to herself, Rosita walked back home. She’d have to pick up Jesse from Joe’s house before she could relax at home. Her son went to their neighbours’ house when Rosita went to work. It was only for a few hours and both Jesse and Isobel enjoyed hanging out. Rosita didn’t have the heart to wake him up sometimes, so she taught him to just go to Joe’s house if he woke up and she was already gone. It took a lot of the stress off to know that Jesse would be safe while Rosita was at work.

Knocking on the door, Rosita waited for Joe to open it. She glanced at her watch, she was a bit earlier than normal. It wouldn’t matter, she was sure Joe would be glad for the little troublemaker to be off his hands. Jesse was generally well behaved, but he could sometimes forget not everything is a game. Rosita smiled as the door opened, her neighbour chuckling.

“Why Jesse, you’re quite late today! Rosita will be home-” Joe stopped, blinking at Rosita. They stared at each other for a moment, processing it, before the realization hit.

“Where’s Jesse?” Rosita asked, hoping she had misheard her neighbour. Joe shook his head.

“He hasn’t shown up yet. I assumed he would, but… I haven’t seen him all day.” He replied, frowning. They paused for a moment, expressions forming a silent conversation between them. Neither had answers to the dozens of questions both wanted to ask, so without another word they were hurrying down the path, Rosita’s heart beating hard as she began praying that her son was okay to any God who would listen.

Unlocking the front door, Rosita burst into the house. “Jesse! Jesse, I’m home! Why weren’t you at Joe’s?” Rosita called, walking straight down the hall towards Jesse’s room. The clack of her heels on the wood, then the patter of her steps on carpet was the only thing she heard. Opening the door to Jesse’s room, Rosita grew more worried at the sight of an empty bed.

“Mijo! Jesse! Where are you? This isn’t a game!” She yelled, going to the kitchen. Nothing. The study was empty too. She glanced at the paintings on the desk, pulse quickening with each second that passed.

“Joe, what’s happened to him?” She asked, going to the living room where he stood. The man shook his head at the empty room, looking dazed.

“I have no idea. He must be around here somewhere. Maybe he’s at Bella’s house?” He suggested, glancing back at the still open front door. Rosita bit her lip worriedly, glancing back at the hallway. Jesse could’ve gone to see one of the many neighbours they’d made friends with, but why would he when he always said he liked Isobel and Joe best?

“Maybe. But what if he’s just gone? Maybe he ran away? What if Deadlock came, he could-” Rosita was cut off by the pain in her chest.

“Rose- Are you alright? Is it your heart?” Joe rushed to her side as she clutched her chest. She took deep breaths, barely hearing Joe’s voice. It wasn’t a heart attack. God no, she knew what that was like. But the pain in her chest was still stinging, even though it calmed. Joe rubbed her back comfortingly, speaking calmly despite the worry glistening in his eyes.

“You need to rest, you’re going to get worse if you work yourself up. Lie down and try not to worry about Jesse, I promise I’ll find him and bring him back to you.” He said firmly, fear but no uncertainty bringing Rosita a bit of comfort. She still shook her head at his words, how could she just sit around relaxing while her son was missing?

“But I- I have to look for him too. He’s my son, Joe!” She murmured, squeezing her eyes shut. Joe shook his head.

“I’ll tell Bella, and John, and everyone. We’ll find him, but you need to rest.” He insisted. Rosita sighed. At least she knew they’d be doing everything they could to find Jesse. The pain in her chest would probably stop her from doing anything useful anyway.

“Alright. I’ll go lie down. I don’t want this to get worse. I just… I hope my Jesse is safe.” She said, blinking. Joe smiled gently at her, silent reassurance conveyed in his gaze.

“He is safe, I’m sure of it. Now go rest up, maybe take some medicine.” Joe said. Nodding, Rosita stood up straight and walked slowly to her room.

“I’ll be back. With Jesse.” Joe called, closing the front door behind him. Rosita hoped that was true. Despite the thousands of worries swirling in her mind, she found it surprisingly easy to just lie down and be overcome with tiredness, her heartbeat having calmed considerably. She was okay. For now. She hoped the same was true for her son.

~~

Rosita awoke to loud talking outside. She groggily opened her eyes and listened. Joe was talking to someone, and when they replied Rosita recognized the voice instantly. Standing up, Rosita felt pain rush to her chest, her head throbbing. Quickly pushing it away, she went out into the hallway, pausing for a moment to blink a few times, before she hurried into the kitchen.

“Jesse!” She cried, rushing forward. Her son wasn’t covered in blood, which was an incredible relief. He looked completely normal, apart from the tears that filled his eyes when looked up at his mother.

“Ma!” Jesse dropped off the chair to the ground, scrambling to hug Rosita when she bent down to embrace him. Her child was safe. She was able to hold him and never let him go, she could shield him from everything that wanted to hurt him, and she would give her life for his without hesitation.

“Mijo, where did you go? Why were you not with Joe? I was so worried about you, Jesse!” Rosita said, pulling back. She held Jesse’s shoulders as she looked into his eyes, heart breaking at the terror and regret in them. Jesse sobbed, trying to wipe his face.

“I’m sorry, Ma! I should’ve gone to hang out with Isobel but I thought you might be proud of me if I went out and got you some new paints from the store but I forgot where it was and I was really lost and I never should’ve tried to go off by myself!” Jesse’s words tumbled out, along with a few sobs. Rosita hugged him again, kissing his forehead as she quietened his crying.

“That was very irresponsible of you, Jesse. You could have gone missing, or gotten hurt, or worse.” She said, trying to make her anger outweigh her relief as she scolded him. She was so happy to have him back, but she shouldn’t have lost him in the first place. Rosita decided she would make sure she could be at home for Jesse more often, or at least get Joe to come and collect him at a certain time. Letting go of her son, Rosita stood up and walked over to her neighbour, who had been politely silent during the reunion.

“Joe, I cannot thank you enough for going out and- and finding my… my dear…” Rosita trailed off, feeling as though she’d suddenly gained five corsets around her chest. “Th- Thank-” The words never formed, Rosita closing her eyes tightly as she struggled to breathe. Her heart and lungs were silently screaming for help, trapped in non existant cages.

“Rosita?” Joe asked, reaching out a hand. He said her name again, but she couldn’t hear it. She barely even realized her knees had buckled until she was on the floor, Joe at her side. Rosita coughed weakly, choking for breath. Everything was muffled and her vision was blurry and dark, Rosita’s conscience struggling.

“Ma!” She heard Jesse cry out. She tried to turn to look at him, but everything faded before she managed to see him properly.

~~

Thunder crashed through the air. Rain pattered the window as Rosita lay in the hospital bed, the drops of water trailing down the clear glass window. Jesse sat at her side, clutching her hand. Rosita couldn’t feel anything, the nurse told her they had taken the pain away so she could be at peace. She didn’t believe this. This wasn’t happening. Was she going to die? Was there really nothing they could do? She had been feeling unwell for the past few weeks, but it hadn’t seemed so serious. According to the doctors, it was because of such a stressful event that her heart and lungs had worn themselves out, and they were now failing completely. It had been what, an hour? Since she’d gotten her son back. From what she knew Joe had taken her straight to hospital, and they’d tried everything to get her back to a stable condition, but there was nothing any doctors or nurses could do. Her heart would stop completely soon. Before she’d been given the pain drugs, Rosita had been barely stopping herself from screaming because of the pain. At least they’d taken that away. Maybe it was better to be numb than face the hell of death. Ignorance is bliss, is it not? That didn’t stop Rosita from wanting to stay alive. She had so much more to do with her life. Jesse was beside her. She wanted to see him grow up. She wanted to see him become a brilliant man who did everything he could to make the world better. God, she’d miss it all. She wouldn’t be there. She wouldn’t be alive anymore. Jesse hadn’t really accepted that yet.

“You’re not gonna die, are you ma?” He whispered, eyes full of tears. Rosita blinked slowly. How could she tell her own son about this? She could barely comprehend it herself, how was her child supposed to handle her death? Thankfully Joe answered the question for her.

“I’m sorry, Jesse. Your mother’s heart cannot be repaired.” He said simply, emotion thick in his voice. More tears welled in Jesse’s eyes and they began flowing down his cheeks. Rosita wanted to wipe them away, but she was so numb. If she pushed his fringe out of his eyes, she wouldn’t feel the soft hazel hairs. If she wiped at the salty water droplets staining his cheeks, she wouldn’t feel the cold. Jesse glanced up at their neighbour, looking doubtful. He didn’t believe this was happening. Rosita didn’t believe it either. She knew it, but she didn’t believe it.

“Is it because she’s sad? People can’t die of sadness, can they?” Jesse asked, pain in his words as he clutched Rosita’s hand tighter. Joe sighed, and Rosita looked up at him to see that he was also tearing up.

“It’s nothing to do with sadness, Jesse. Her heart is physically broken. There is nothing the doctors can do.” He explained, resting his hand on Jesse’s shoulder. Rosita’s son cried out, burying his head in her side. Rosita felt sadness, but also a feeling of freedom. A warm feeling spread from the core of her heart to the tips of her fingers, peacefulness settling in.

“Thank you, Joe. For being so good to me and Jesse. Please, take care of him.” She said, smiling up at her friend. This was the man who was always ready to lend a hand with the groceries, always prepared to invite them for lunch, the man whose daughter was Jesse’s bestest friend in the whole wide world. He was truly a good friend to Rosita, and she owed him so much more than she would ever be able to give. Literally.

“I will.” Joe replied simply, wiping his eyes. Rosita nodded, then looked back at Jesse. Her son. Her world. Her everything. She knew this would hit him hard. She wished she could stop this, but she was powerless. She hoped he wouldn’t blame himself, this was far from his fault.

“Mijo. Jesse.” She murmured. Her son looked up, red eyes filled with pain and sadness. “You are brilliant. You will do great things in life. I want you to always do your best to be happy, and always achieve your goals. I know you will succeed, and I am sorry I will not be with you to celebrate. But I will always be proud of you, and when the time comes I will be waiting for you in heaven.” Rosita stroked Jesse’s cheek, ignoring the brief sadness that came with being unable to really feel it. Jesse sobbed, still clutching her arm.

“Don’t leave me, ma…” He whispered, though his voice was weak and filled with defeat. Rosita rested her head on her pillow, breathing in and out slowly. She couldn’t really regret anything anymore. What was the point? She was put on this Earth without a lot of opportunities. She learnt to paint. She abandoned her family as soon as she was eighteen. She had a son. She raised him as best she could. And after that, there was nothing.


	2. Cass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to quickly say that most of this fic (about 4 chapters) was written literal months before the introduction of Ashe, so I had no way of writing her into the story. Any similarities between characters/plot/names with the newest lore is honestly coincidental, and because this is an AU, Ashe doesn't have to exist, so she doesn't.
> 
> I hate Ashe, don't @ me

“No, no, no, no.” She whispered, shaking her head. Jesse gulped.

“Wh- What’s wrong, Cass?” The seven year old asked, grabbing her arm. Cassandra pushed him away, hissing slightly as his nails dug lightly into her skin, before letting go.

“Jesse. You need to get out of here.” She said, trying to stay calm. The young boy blinked, fear filled eyes staring into Cass’s own. She was going to regret this. She didn’t want to let him go. But she knew he’d only get hurt if she let him stay.

“Wha- Why? I can’t leave you here, what if-” Jesse started, but Cass cut him off with a shake of her head.

“It’s too late. They’re on their way, Jesse-bear. We both knew they would catch up with me eventually.” The twenty year old wasn’t sure how to comfort the boy. Cass had come to terms with this but Jesse clearly hadn’t imagined having to live without her. He was only young. She wished it could be different, but at least he could kind of take care of himself. Hopefully.

“I’m sorry. I wish we could keep running, but you heard that man. Deadlock knows where we are. But I won’t let them hurt you, so listen to me when I say you need to run.” She said again, pushing Jesse towards the pile of boxes leading up the wall. They were in a closed off alleyway. God, as if this gave them any shelter or safety. Cass should have been more careful, of course Deadlock would track her down. They had waited for the perfect time to strike, when she and Jesse were most vulnerable, without any weapons or escape plan. If Cass ran now, they would both be caught, and probably killed. Cass was weak, no sleep from staying on watch, and no energy because she had been giving any safe water and food she found in the past two weeks to Jesse. She’d drank from puddles, thank god for the rain, and barely survived on scraps. She could have had proper food, and paid for clean bottled water, but she gave it all up for Jesse. She’d done everything in her power to keep him safe and healthy. Now Jesse’s eyes were filled with hurt and betrayal, and no matter how much Cass sacrificed, she couldn’t fix that.

“But- But I can-” Jesse tried to stutter his way through a sentence, but was silenced by Cass gripping his shoulders.

“No, Jesse. You have to go. I don’t want you getting hurt because of my mistakes. You’re not going to see me again, if you’re lucky. Please. Run.” She lightly shoved him again towards the pile of boxes. Jesse was strong, for a kid. He could climb up and over the wall and be running down the street in an instant. She wanted him as far away from here as possible. He was still for a few moments, still looking like he wanted to protest. Cass briefly glanced away at the sound of distant yelling, but quickly returned her gaze to Jesse. He noticed it to, and seemed to finally accept what was happening. Jesse turned slowly, pushing himself up onto the boxes and scrabbling against the brick wall to climb up it.

“Cass?” He asked quietly, glancing around with terrified eyes as there was more yelling. Cass’s heart shattered. He looked so afraid. So vulnerable and alone.

“Yes, Jesse-bear?” Her voice was little more than a whisper as she struggled to keep the tears from pouring down her face.

“I love you.” Jesse replied solemnly, not meeting her gaze. Heavy footsteps pounded against the concrete outside the alley. In a flash Jesse was lifting his legs over the ledge and dropping down the other side of the wall, gone.

Cass sobbed for what felt like decades, but was only a few moments. She was interrupted by a sharp kick to her back and she let out a cry, stretching out her arms to stop from face planting into the concrete. Cass turned around to see what seemed like dozens of soldiers pouring into the alley, surrounding her, barking at each other and into intercoms.

“On the ground!” The man screeched, pointing a gun in her face. Cassandra obeyed, collapsing on her stomach and laying her tear stained face against the cold stones. She couldn’t do anything else. Why bother fighting anymore? There was no-one to fight for. He was long gone, hopefully. As Cass’s wrists were locked tightly with metal cuffs behind her back, rendering her useless against her attackers, heels clacked their way into her thoughts.

“Cass, you fucking monster.” The woman said, having realized Jesse was gone. There was a pause, Cass not bothering to look up at her enemy, before the woman barked at her soldiers. “Spread out! Search the area! We’re finding that brat!” She yelled. Cass watched in silence as some of the grunts, mostly teenagers, went back down the alley, while some struggled to climb the wall where Jesse had disappeared.

“You run for all this fucking time with that deadweight, and now you sacrifice yourself for it?” The woman spat. “You’re almost not worth my time.” She growled, crouching down so she could presumably get a better viewing angle just to judge Cass.

“Just let me go.” Cass snapped, not meeting Holly’s gaze. The woman burst into maniacal laughter while Cass boredly observed the woman’s outfit of clean black skinny jeans, a vest of sorts likely loaded with weapons, and those damn leather boots. 

“Yeah yeah, let me just spend _months_ hunting you down and only _barely_ getting a trace of you by having some bitch develop a pin point satellite tracking device and planting it on you by _literally getting an agent from Los Muertos to go out and find your location_ \- you moved around so much, this whole ambush thing was super annoying to plan by the way - but then the agent had to _bump into you on ‘accident’_ and put the tracker on you because we can’t just kill you since the doctor’s a _complicated dickhead,_ all so I can end up letting you go!” Holly got increasingly louder and more furious as she glared down at Cass, who didn’t respond. The doctor?

“What I’m trying to say,” Holly calmed herself, but her voice was strained as she smiled at Cass. “Is that it took a lot of work to convince the boss you’re worth finding. And it took a lot of work to _actually find you._ But you’re going to make it worth the time.” Holly’s words sent a shudder through Cass. Deadlock used people. It made them into weapons. Holly held Cass’s chin up with a delicate hand. It terrified Cassandra that the gesture was so easy to remember. So easy to lean into and forget all that had happened… But she could resist, knowing the consequences. Holly suddenly seemed vulnerable and afraid as she spoke again.

“I’ve missed you. I- I’m sorry. For all of this. But I’m in too deep, if I try to back out they’ll- y-you know how they are. I’m not ready to die, Cass.” She murmured, not making eye contact. Cass was surprised. Holly looked genuinely sorry. She couldn’t tell if the woman was being sincere or not, but she wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of forgiveness.

“Don’t. Your petty excuses won’t make up for what you’re doing.” She replied, glaring directly at Holly. Her captor managed to hold her gaze, solemn tone undeniably real as she nodded.

“I know.”

~~

Cass stared at the floor. She was being yelled at again.

“I don’t know where Jesse is.” She explained calmly, for the fifth time that day. The man groaned, balling his hands into fists. This was getting tiresome.

“Why not?” He asked, his gruff voice beginning to be familiar due to the fact he had asked her that exact same question multiple times everyday for the past week. Cass just shook her head, she’d learnt that they could tell when she was being honest or not, and thank god she didn’t have to lie about Jesse.

“I sent him away. I wasn’t just going to let you capture both of us.” She replied with the same answer as usual. It was the truth, she genuinely didn’t know where Jesse was anymore. She had always known Deadlock was hunting her down, of course she had. She hadn’t bothered to hide any traces of herself, or told anyone not to give info about her. But she had done those things for Jesse. She hid him away when she had to go into shops, she never let them stay in one place for too long, she made sure he never left anything behind. The chances of Jesse being tracked down were hopefully slim to none. She wasn’t going to let them take him away so they could brainwash him, or kill him, or torture him -whatever the fuck kind of twisted shit Deadlock did to kids to make them loyal to their god awful gang. That wasn’t going to happen to Jesse. Hopefully. They wouldn’t find him, would they? He had ran as far away as he could, Cass knew he had. She had told him to leave her behind. He always listened to her, he trusted her. But still, he was only a kid. She had known it was futile to dream of a life where she could do things like serve Jesse three meals - health meals - a day, or help him with homework, or even just tell him off for not doing chores. But Cass had dreamt of that life. She loved Jesse, he was like her son, and she needed to take care of him. Now she tried to tell herself it was good she had to send him away. Sometimes the best way to help someone you love is to let them go. Free them from the safety shackles you’ve given them. They’ll make mistakes, they’ll get hurt, but they’ll learn, right? They’ll become better for the experiences… If only Cass could believe that. Jesse had to go too early. Cass had wanted to keep running. Hell, she’d keep running forever if it meant she could keep Jesse safe. But Deadlock were on their way, she had to act fast. She could have tried fighting, but she was so weak and exhausted she would have barely even scratched just one of those surprisingly strong grunts. And if she had fought, they’d have Jesse now. Cass had done the right thing. Hopefully.

~~

Cassandra blinked up at Holly, her eyelids feeling heavy. She knew why the woman was here, it was the same reason anyone came to speak to Cass.

“I don’t know where Jesse is.” She repeated. She had learnt to say this whenever someone came to talk to her. They had seemed to accept her answer, whether it was because they believed her or just because they were sick of talking to her was up for debate. Holly nodded, which surprised Cass.

“I know you don’t. But you’re with Deadlock once more, darling. If you have no intel we need another way to use you.” She murmured. Ignoring the pet name that made her want to vomit, Cass perked up at that idea. Would she be a soldier again? Maybe she could escape, go find Jesse-

“And don’t even think you’ll have the chance to leave again.” Holly added, seemingly reading Cass’s mind. Fuck.

“You’re smart, Cassy dear, we both know that. So, you plan our missions, we don’t shoot you. Sound good?” Holly asked casually. Cass’s eyes widened. What had Deadlock _done_ to Holly? Was she really so immune to death and pain that she didn’t even _pretend_ to dislike the idea of killing Cass? Deadlock was starting to scare the prisoner. It was just so inhumane… 

“What missions?” Cass asked, glaring up at Holly.

“Well, we wanted to take down the local police department. It would be nice to have free reign again. And after that they’ll contact Overwatch, so if we make this brutal enough we could prove _just_ how strong we are.” Holly’s eyes blazed with so much ambition, you’d think she actually _wanted_ Deadlock to rule the world… Oh God, maybe she did.

“We need the world to know how powerful we are. How easy it is for us to let them all _burn._ ” Holly smiled wickedly, the spark of enthusiasm kind of horrific. Cass winced, starting to want the old Deadlock back. They were just as ambitious, but they weren’t so _merciless._

“And what do I get if I help you?” She asked, trying to ignore the part of her brain screaming at her she was making a mistake.

“You get more food.” Holly suggested, leaning against the wall. Cass raised an eyebrow. After a moment, “And we won’t take out the brat on sight.” was added. Cass’s blood turned to ice. They were willing to shoot Jesse? He was a kid. A tough kid, but a bullet - even just to his _arm_ \- would have him dead within hours. Or at least slow him down enough to be an easy target. Holly cleared her throat.

“I think you know what you need to do.” She muttered, seeming completely uninterested with the conversation. Cass sighed. She’d rather be dead. But then who would protect Jesse?

“Fine. Just don’t hurt him.”

~~

Cass blinked as she heard more yelling outside. That happened every day, but in the weeks she’d been here, she still hadn’t gotten used to it. She yawned, wondering if one day she actually would get used to it. She hoped not. She hoped to be out of here ASAP. This place was hell. She hated every second being trapped in this awful cell with barely any sleep, food, or even just human contact. They gave Cass just enough necessities to survive, but nothing more. Fucking monsters, they wouldn’t even let her die and she knew if she tried to starve herself they’d force feed her for their damn mission planning. And they could always threaten her with the promise of Jesse’s demise as soon as they found him.

Cass jumped as she heard squealing. They hadn’t captured another kid, had they? Walking to the tiny window to the outside, Cassandra stared out at the situation. Two of the grunts stood over a cowering child, their arms folded as they waited for it to get up. That was another thing Cass hated. The people here were seriously fucked up, and they made anyone they came in contact with fucked up too. Cass squinted, trying to pick out any distinguishing features of the child. She flinched as thunder boomed through the air. The storm was still going, though the rain had died down a little bit. Cass kept trying to identify the kid, but eventually just shook her head and sat back down. Poor kid. They were trapped here now. And they definitely wouldn’t get the treatment Cass had. While she had just enough to live somewhat healthily, the rest of the people here were in shambles. Except for the grunts and the higher ups. They always got plenty of food and water, extremely well looked after at the expense of those below them - At first Cass had been confused as to why the regular soldiers were treated as if they were equal to the bosses of the gang, when she realized they had to be. They might be just for muscle, but without a healthy diet they’d become malnourished and weak. Plus, if they weren’t treated with respect, they could strike or some shit - And then there was the rest of the gang, who got stupidly small portions of food, if any. Prisoners, hostages, traitors. Some of the people here were actually used as weapons. It was horrific. People of all ages sent back to their homes, brainwashed or simply driven mad by torture to kill their loved ones.

Cass had no idea how the Deadlock gang had become so brutal, so powerful, but they couldn't have done it on their own. There was a darker force behind their methods, not to mention their brand new high tech equipment. Everything was too advanced and organized for some half-destroyed, resourceless and leaderless gang to have rebuilt since they were last beaten. Back then, Overwatch had stepped in, arrested a few people, killed a couple of idiots. But they hadn’t stopped Deadlock. In fact, it seemed like the gang was only more powerful because Overwatch had given them attention. Like they had allied with an enemy of the peace organization. But which one? Cass winced as the kid squealed again.

~~

Cassandra rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She had awoken to the sound of her name being yelled by Holly. Cass’s captor stood at the door to her cell, glaring in at her.

“Get up!” She snapped again. Sighing, Cass lifted herself to her feet, wincing as she struggled to stay upright because of how weak her knees were getting. She met Holly’s gaze, sure she saw a brief hint of pity, but it was gone as Holly opened the door.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Cass.” Holly spoke, leading her prisoner down a hallway. “We’re going to brainwash you.” She explained calmly, turning another corner. Cass stopped in the middle of the corridor, silent for a few seconds. Nothing. No ‘Jk!’ or ‘Got you!’. Holly was dead serious.

“What?!” Cass yelped, staring at the other woman. _Brainwash? Why?_ What had Cass done to deserve this? It was bad enough just being trapped in Deadlock again, but to wipe her mind entirely? Cass knew what happened to people who had their brains filled with false memories, and their personality destroyed. It was terrifying to see a person one day fighting against the grunts dragging them down the corridor, then the next day they were walking around like a zombie, eyes dull and no memory of Cass whatsoever. Cassandra never wanted to go through that. She opened her mouth to object, but Holly spoke first.

“You can’t fight us on this. The boss says they want your personality gone. You’re a threat with all your free will.” Holly was blank as she opened a door, then turned back to look at her prisoner.

“The fuck do you mean a threat?! _What_ free will? I’m a _prisoner,_ Holly!” Cass shrieked, starting to back away from Holly. The woman unfortunately noticed, and grabbed Cass’s arm. Cassandra stilled, even though her entire being screamed at her to get away from this psychopath.

“You have attachments. You have something to fight for, Cass. So you have to be brainwashed.” Holly replied calmly, her tone sending chills through Cass. What? What the fuck was wrong with these people? Why all of this? After a few seconds of searching for answers in Holly’s eyes, Cass was surprised when they filled with pain. The woman looked away, unable to keep the gaze. Cass realized that Holly _had_ the answers. But she wasn’t supposed to give them away.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to do this.” Holly said gently, still resisting eye contact. Cass felt tears prick her eyes.

“Then _don’t!_ You’re better than this, Holly! You have so much _power_ now, why don’t you just let me go? We could both leave!” Cass’s heart fluttered as Holly’s eyes softened, and her hopes started creeping back. She could see a better future. She sat in a living room, Jesse on her lap as she read to him. Holly would be there too, they could live a normal life, and every night they’d come home from their normal jobs and they’d think back to Deadlock and laugh at how ridiculous it was that they really thought Cass would have to be brainwashed-

“No.” Cold words cut through Cass’s heart, her fantasy shattering into pieces as Holly continued.

“This is the problem. They think you’ll convince me to leave. You’re dangerous. They want you gone. But you’re too valuable because of all your training, so instead of getting rid of you entirely, they’re going to get rid of your flaws. Erase the bad things in your personality.” Holly murmured, all emotion drained from her words.

“Is being a person _bad?_ Having free thoughts? _Not being a fucking zombie is a bad thing?_ ” Cass snapped, curling her hands into fists. Holly shook her head.

“You have to do it, Cass.” She whispered. She was too much of a coward to hold Cass’s gaze, and it was infuriating that she looked guilty. If she really felt bad she’d try to do something.

“No! I’m not fucking going to let you fucking _brainwash_ me!” Cass shrieked. Holly suddenly rounded on her, anger and pain flashing in her irises.

“You _are_ going to, and you should count yourself lucky I’m not going to let you find out the consequences only _after_ you make your decisions!” She barked, stepping closer when Cass backed away.

“Consequences?” Cass’s voice was barely more than a whisper, and Holly’s eyes filled with tears.

“We found Jesse. I know how much he means to you, so I’m doing everything I can to stop him from getting killed. One of those things is making you get brainwashed, so just- _please,_ do this.” Holly explained, wiping her eyes quickly. Cass felt her world collapse around her.

“Jesse?” She asked quietly. Holly nodded, staring at the door.

“I brought you here to see him. This is your last chance before you forget everything.” Opening the door fully, Holly stood to the side. Cass was still recovering from being yelled at, but she was instantly frozen when she stepped into the room. On a chair sat a small boy with hazel brown hair covered with a dorky cowboy hat. His red bandanna was covered in stains, and he had dirt on his hands. There were bruises on his arms and he had a black eye. When Cass stopped at the doorway, he immediately got to his feet, and they stared at each other for a few heartbeats. Then they rushed forwards, Cass letting her knees give way as she fell to the ground, hugging Jesse close. She started sobbing, arms wrapping around the poor child she loved so much. She’d spent months looking after Jesse. He’d given her laughter, made everyday brighter, followed her everywhere. _This child was the reason she kept living._ The reason she didn’t just give up and starve. Jesse was her everything. She patted at him carefully, inspecting the bruises and cuts and his dirty clothes. He was scrawny, definitely less well fed than when she had sent him away. He was still Jesse though. _Her_ Jesse. When they pulled out of the hug, Jesse sniffed.

“They won’t really brainwash you will they, Cass?” He asked, trying and failing to wipe away his tears. Cassandra glanced back at Holly, who just gave her a sorrow filled stare.

“I’m sorry, Jesse-bear. It’s to keep you safe.” Cass whispered. She stared down at the ground, at a loss. Jesse didn’t say anything. That was something Cass had always wanted, especially when Jesse would ramble on about this and that, refusing to shut up. But now, the silence was too much to bear. Cass settled with pulling Jesse into another hug, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Listen to me, Jesse. These people are bad. If someone gives you the chance to escape, take it. Get out of here. Live a good life, with a good family. That is all I will ever want for you. I love you.” She murmured quietly, heart breaking as Jesse’s entire frame shook when he sobbed. They stayed like that for a few minutes longer, trying to accept this was really goodbye. 

“We have to go.” Holly spoke. Cass let go of Jesse, standing up. The boy stared at her as she backed towards the door. She couldn’t bear the pain in his eyes, how deserted he looked.

“I love you too, Cass.” He said quietly, looking down at the ground. Holly closed the door and began leading Cass down another hallway, not stopping to let Cassandra process it. The prisoner barely stopped the sob from escaping her, tears still streaming down her face as she followed Holly.

~~

Cass glanced around the room, frowning at all the strange machines. Well, here was the lab. And it was certainly… Interesting. It was quite a while away from all the cells, and the walk to get there had been long enough for Cass to somewhat dry her tears. It wasn’t long enough for the pain to fade, though. The pain would never be gone.

“You’re really serious about this, huh?” Cass asked quietly. Holly just sighed softly in reply. Cass nodded slowly. “Who made all this?” She asked, glancing at the chair in the center of the room. There were countless wires connected to it, as well as some sort of helmet thing resting on the seat.

“Sean O'Deorain. He’s committed his life to his experiments on memory wiping and hypnotic manipulation. His wife left him a while back and he went kinda crazy in my opinion. But still, he can do the science, and he’ll be the one to brainwash you.” Holly gestured to the chair, implying Cass sit down.

Ignoring her, Cass walked over to the desk. There were countless pieces of paper scattered carelessly across it, though a few were stacked in messy piles. Needles still half full of strange yellow or purple liquid were laid on a tray. But three things in particular stood out to Cass as she inspected the desk. There was a drawing of a design for some kind of metal arm, the description underneath it claiming it would adapt and grow with a person. _Grow?_ Was this guy thinking of giving metal limbs to _kids?_ Cass tried not to think about Jesse with a metal arm. To replace a limb there had to be one missing in the first place... The second item that caught her attention was some kind of sketch of a man who she thought she recognized. Ah, that’s right. He was one of the people in Overwatch way back when it started. He was probably still there, but Cass hadn’t checked the news in the past year or so. She couldn’t remember his name for the life of her, but she would know the dark rugged beard and resting bitch face anywhere. It seemed as if this guy, Sean, was coming up with completely unrealistic shit to give to people. Robotic arms for _aim?_ How the fuck would that work? Smoke powers? Who the fuck wanted smoke powers? What did that even mean? Cass’s interest in the sketches was lost as her gaze rested on a picture. Three people sat together, smiling. A man with bright ginger hair, who must have been Sean himself, was with a thin woman who had long dark brown hair and a naturally gaunt frame. Between them was a girl, she looked about nine years old, who was thin and sharp with short ginger hair. That would be his daughter, right? His wife must have taken her with her. Thank god for that, this guy was in no state to raise kids if he planned to give them _robotic arms_ and _smoke powers._

Cass was going to ask Holly about Sean, but the thought shattered when the door opened. Backing away from the desk, she turned to face the person. She’d apparently been right about the people in the picture, as the man who entered the room was slim and pale with bright orange hair. He wore a buttoned up lab coat and he held a light blue clipboard as he flipped through notes. Cass stood waiting for a few moments, before the doctor looked up. A smile immediately blossomed on his face, but it brought her no comfort. He honestly looked like the embodiment of the devil.

“Well, hello. I’m Doctor O'Deorain. I’m glad you came to your senses, Miss Della.” The man spoke. Cass froze, glancing at Holly, who didn’t meet her gaze. Cass preferred to keep her identity as hidden as possible. She always introduced herself as Cassandra, or even a fake name if she had to. But Holly knew her full name. And a lot more about Cass’s history that she’d rather not be common knowledge. There was no way the doctor could know her last name unless Holly had told him.

“Please, call me Cass.” The prisoner said through gritted teeth, shooting a glare at Holly. Cass was surprised when the scientist shook his head as he went over to the desk and picked up a needle.

“No thank you. I don’t believe it’s right for me to use your first name. That would imply we know each other. We don’t, and we never will. I’m not here to be your friend, Miss Della.” The way he spoke infuriated Cass, but she stayed silent. “Now, if you’re done wasting time, please take a seat.” He gestured to the chair in the center of the room, where Holly still stood. The woman stepped away as Cass sat down, crouching to do something to the seat. Suddenly the reality of this hit Cass. She was going to lose herself. All her memories. All her friendships. She was going to lose Jesse, too. No, wait, she couldn’t do this- Cass had made a mistake sitting down. Her limbs were locked in place, attached to the seat by steel cuffs just as she began to get up.

“Wait, I-” Cass started, but she was cut off by that cold, condescending voice.

“It’s too late for changing your mind now, Miss Della. But, we _did_ make an agreement. In exchange for you doing this, we won’t hurt the child you very _unwisely_ let yourself get attached to.” He said, his judging expression even clearer now there was no threat of Cass slapping him. He thought she was stupid for loving Jesse. Didn’t he feel _any_ pity? Was he really not at all bothered by the fact that Cass wouldn’t even remember the closest thing she had to a child? Had the scientist let himself become so detached from his own kid that he didn’t care if anyone else lost theirs? He didn’t answer any of Cass’s questions as he turned on a large computer, dozens of files showing up as he tapped away. After a few seconds of clicking and naming, he glanced back over at Cass.

“You’re going to be injected with a very powerful drug that should induce drowsiness after a few minutes. While we wait for it to kick in you will experience brief pains in your cranium, then you will be in a state between awake and your brain shutting down completely. Don’t worry, either you won’t remember it or you’ll die.” His monotone voice was chilling. Cass stared at him, but he wasn’t joking. It was even worse as he went on with that cold, empty way of speaking.

“We’re going to help you forget parts of your life with something I suppose could be compared to Electroconvulsive therapy.” He paused when Cass narrowed her eyes at him, not understanding. “Formerly called electroshock therapy.” He explained. Cass nodded sharply, looking away. Electrocution. This sure was gonna be fun.

“After the memories are gone we’ll replace them with what we want you to believe, so we change you into a completely different person. We might not be able to completely erase who you are, but we will do our best to prevent you from finding things that might bring memories back.” He said without skipping a beat. Panic flared in Cass, and she tried again to remove her wrists from the restraints. The doctor turned away, beginning to fill up one of the needles, only making her more desperate to escape.

“Fucking help me!” Cass yelped at Holly, glaring at the other woman. She kept trying to fight, terrified as the doctor started towards her intently. He held a needle filled with poisonous-looking dark green liquid, and he tried to reach out for Cass’s arm. Holly was frozen in place, watching.

“I- I-” She stammered, wide eyes locking with Cass’s. It was futile. Cass couldn’t avoid the needle which was carefully forced into her skin, immediately making her feel ill just at the sensation of the metal forcing itself into her arm. She flailed wildly, desperately trying to stop the doctor, but he gripped her shoulder firmly. Cass felt nauseous as whatever was in the needle flowed into her bloodstream, but despite the black spots covering her vision she still tried to shove the doctor away.

“Get the fuck away from me!” She shrieked, barely even able to see him because of the blurry haze overtaking her sight. He seemed unaffected, simply going back to his desk and putting the needle down. Cass eventually remembered the other woman in the room, and turned to glare at her.

“This is _your_ fault! You’re the reason I’m even here! You just had to fuck everything up for me! _Again,_ even! I fucking _curse_ you, Holly! I don’t even care if curses aren’t a thing! I curse you to _always_ remember the pain and suffering you’re putting me through! I curse you to never forget all the ways you’ve ruined my life! You better make sure Jesse lives to escape this shithole or I _swear_ you’re going to regret it!” She shrieked. Holly tried to step towards Cass, but surprisingly it was the doctor who got between them, pushing Holly away.

“This is what we were talking about. She has a bad effect on you. Besides, there’s nothing you can do now. She’s going to be erased. You’ll feel better when it’s over.” He said gently, sympathy in his voice. It was the first sign of any human emotion. Maybe he was just faking it, though, to make Holly feel better. Cass couldn’t bear to see the regret and pain flickering in Holly’s gaze, so instead she looked down at her shoulder. She was then immediately horrified to find the top of her arm was turning _green._ Not sickly green, but a deep, gorgeous forest green. It was extremely opaque at the exact spot the needle had poked her, and the colour was slowly starting to spread. Well, that was a delightful sight. Better than anything she had seen all week, really. Asides from Jesse. Jesse. Oh no, Jesse. Would she really forget him? Yes, of course she would. She was powerless to stop any of this anymore. That was the worst part-

~~~~

Viper stared down at her hands. Green, with scales. It felt strange. No-one else here was green. Or had scales. And no-one else had _venom._ She felt like a monster. She supposed she was, really. The woman had insisted she was great. Viper had apparently hit her head and gained a condition called Amnesia, where she couldn’t remember things properly. The woman -what was her name? Dolly? Oli? Was that short for Olivia? No, it was Holly. Holly had told Viper some stories about her supposed lifetime. It sounded quite strange, Viper didn’t remember killing those people. She didn’t remember asking Deadlock for help. But apparently it had all happened, and Viper had no reason to doubt Holly. Or Dr O’Deorain. They both seemed like intelligent people who only wanted the best for Viper. She was pretty sure they did. They had given her medicine and food and whatever. They re-taught her how to use her venom, and where’s the best place to attack a person to kill them. The neck, apparently. Or the head, or the heart. Even the stomach. Viper was pretty sure she already knew that, though.

Viper didn’t like the noise of the Deadlock gang, it seemed like people were always shouting. Holly had said she didn’t notice it to be that loud, but Viper heard people talking even if they were a few rooms down from hers. Dr O’deorain said it was probably because she wasn’t exactly human. That had really confused Viper. Why wasn’t she human? She felt human. At least, she felt like she used to be human. But that was impossible, of course. She had been this way her whole life, said Holly. Footsteps echoed down the hallway outside, sparking interest from Viper. She opened the door, even though Holly hadn’t knocked. The woman seemed surprised for a moment, which confused Viper, then Holly nodded.

“Oh, right, you probably heard my footsteps.” She laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck as she looked to the side. Viper tilted her head.

“Yeah. Not exactly human and all, can’t really help if I’m good at hearing.” Viper answered, forcing her tone to remain neutral. She always felt kind of agitated around Holly, as if the woman had done something bad to Viper. But she hadn’t. She would have told Viper about it if she had. The reptile blinked.

“Why are you here?” She asked, glancing around. She had checkups every three days, but the next one was meant to be tomorrow. Holly smiled.

“I’m going to take you on a tour!” She said, clasping her hands together. Viper gave her a blank stare, and Holly seemed confused at the lack of enthusiasm.

“A tour. Of the grounds.” She said again, smiling meekly. Viper nodded.

“I know what you said. A tour sounds fine.” She shrugged, not really caring. A tour didn’t matter to her, Dr O’Deorain said she wouldn’t spend a whole lot of time talking to other people anyway. Apparently Viper would be getting a few tasks soon enough. She wasn’t really sure what these tasks involved, but it sounded like she’d be doing Deadlock’s dirty work. Whatever. She was going on a tour now. Viper followed Holly nonchalantly as she was lead down the hallway.

~~

Squinting at the cell, Viper struggled to remember where she recognized this from.

“I think I’ve been here before.” She said to Holly, who tensed. Viper glanced at the woman as she responded quickly.

“What? No, you haven’t! You’ve only been in the lab and in your room since- since you hit your head!” Holly exclaimed. She grabbed Viper’s arm, not letting her reply, even though the reptile wanted to insist she had seen it before. Viper was sure she had, walking into the cell felt like entering an old childhood bedroom years after leaving home. But, of course, the cell didn’t feel nice or welcoming at all. Viper felt trapped there. Well, obviously, it was a prison cell after all. Maybe she was just making things up. Holly clearly didn’t want Viper to stay.

“Let’s go see some of the- the, well, not so _trustworthy_ members of Deadlock.” Holly said, dragging Viper back out into the corridor. Viper glanced back at the cell one last time, struggling to find the reason for its familiarity. She _had_ seen it before. She just didn’t remember when… 

~

Viper froze, staring at the people in the cells. She was starting to question Deadlock’s intentions, as the line between needing to kill and hurt to make the world a better place and being brutally cruel and inhuman was getting blurry.

“Why are they all locked up?” She asked Holly, bending down to inspect the strangers. They all looked incredibly malnourished, and most of them didn’t seem to notice Holly or Viper. It was depressing, seeing all these people in cells. Most of them were quite young, too. The ones who did notice Viper, however, backed away from the cell door. Viper flinched as a child started crying. Forgetting her previous question, she turned back to Holly, frowning.

“What did I do?” She asked. Holly looked away. Viper stifled a hiss of frustration, she just wanted some _answers._ Looking back at the child, Viper tried to smile comfortingly.

“I’m sorry, I- I know I look strange.” She murmured. It was a young boy, he had scruffy brown hair covered by a strange hat. He wore a bandana around his neck, and was using to cover his eyes.

“Why are you crying?” Viper whispered.

“I really miss her.” The boy replied, wiping his eyes.

“Who?” Asked Viper, blinking. He shook his head.

“Can’t tell ya.” He murmured. Viper frowned.

“What’s your name?” She asked. She thought about reaching through the bars of the cage, but decided he would be scared of her scales. She felt bad. Why did she have to look so weird? If she was human he wouldn’t be so afraid. The boy shook his head again.

“I’m not allowed to say.” He glanced at Holly. Viper turned and glared at the woman.

“Why can’t he tell me?” She asked, standing up straight. Holly opened her mouth, then covered it, silencing herself. Of course. No answers, _again._ Was it so wrong to want to know what was happening? Holly understood all of it, but she wouldn’t tell Viper anything. It wasn’t fair. Viper was planning a seething insult when the boy spoke again.

“Because if I do they’re gonna kill me.” He answered. Viper’s eyes widened as she glanced at him, his face was buried in his bandana.

“Tell me his name.” Viper growled, rounding on Holly. Keeping her hand over her mouth, Holly shook her head as she backed away. Viper’s pupils turned into slits as she fixed her furious gaze on the woman. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll ask Dr O’Deorain. And he’ll want to know why I’m asking, won’t he?” Viper snapped. She didn’t really know if that counted as a threat, but it seemed to scare Holly. That intrigued Viper. Why was Holly afraid of the Doctor? As far as Viper knew, he hadn’t done anything wrong… 

“His name...” Whispered Holly, blinking. “Is… Uh… Joel.” She finished, smiling weakly.

“What’s his last name?” Viper snapped, not convinced.

“Justice.” Holly decided, folding her arms.

“Middle?” Viper asked, confused. What a stupid name.

“Oh, come on, Ca- V-Viper! You don’t n-need a middle name, do you?” Holly asked. Viper twitched.

“What?” She asked. Ca-something? Everything was getting more confusing by the second. “What were you about to say?” Viper questioned. Holly gulped.

“Cassandra.” She murmured, fear flashing in her eyes. Viper blinked. The name flickered a flame in her mind, but she couldn’t tell what it meant. _Cassandra…_ Pretty name. If Viper was given the option to give herself a new one, perhaps she could use that. But it didn’t make sense that Holly had almost called her that. She was Viper. She’d always been Viper, Holly even said so herself.

“Why would you call me that?” Viper asked, tilting her head. She jumped as the child started crying again. Thanks, kid, that certainly didn’t make her feel like a monster. Holly grabbed Viper’s arm, quickly pulling her away from the cells.

“No reason. Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;pp


	3. Gabe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OWO

Shaking his head, Gabriel gave her a cheeky grin. “I tried, but he wouldn’t listen. Jack’s apparently not allowed to sleep now.” He said, leaning against the door frame. Rolling her eyes, Ana grabbed her tablet.

“I’m thinking of clearing his schedule all together. He can’t keep living on coffee and those pastries you need to stop buying for him.” She said, smirking as Gabriel’s eyes widened. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed. He leaves crumbs all over his office and the last time you got him muffins all 12 wrappers were right next to the bin. I’m quite worried about that actually, you and I both know he’s always been the best thrower, but the bin definitely hasn’t moved and yet he’s missing.” Ana swiped at her screen, reading through the names of agents carefully. She did nothing to hide her amusement, and after a moment looked back up at Gabriel to speak again.

“Oh, by the way, did you hear Torbjörn’s got another child? Well, I suppose they’re not really a child, per say…” The egyptian woman put down the tablet, patting the seat beside her for Gabriel to sit down. Eyebrows raised, he obliged, intrigued at the mention of the former agent.

“I have no idea what that means.” Gabe said simply. It had been a while since Torb had left Overwatch. He said he didn’t want to and that it was all Ingrid’s idea, but everyone knew he was much happier settling down with his family, able to work on something other than weapons and armour.

“He’s decided to house an E54. Very surprising, isn’t it? Though I suppose with it only being him, Ingrid and Brigitte, the house must seem a lot more empty.” Ana said, sighing as she sipped her tea.

“What? I thought those things were all deactivated. They went rogue, remember? Has he seriously brought a murder machine into his home?” Gabe asked, frowning. He really should visit the Swede sometime. Jack had mentioned him the other day, saying the upcoming Deadlock mission would be much simpler if they still had their star mechanic.

“You’re quick to judge, Gabriel. He said it’s very friendly, and he’s doing his best to get rid of any particularly suspicious code. Plus, a murder machine could kill all of those ‘intruders’ that have been bugging him recently.” She said, smiling at the mention of the ‘dastardly creatures’ invading Torbjörn’s home. Gabe chuckled, fondly remembering the message from a few months ago. Torb had complained about the dozens of cats outside - apparently Brigitte had started feeding them, which honestly surprised no-one. There was a pause, before Ana’s smile faded.

“Actually, Gabriel, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently.” Ana’s serious tone caught Gabe’s interest, and he tilted his head, so she continued.

“Perhaps it is time for me to retire. Fareeha isn’t getting the right education here, and she doesn’t have any friends apart from online ones. I want her to have a normal life, away from Overwatch and the military.” She murmured. There was sadness but no uncertainty in her voice, and no matter how hard Gabriel searched, he couldn’t see any glimmer of amusement to indicate she was joking. He was thankful he hadn’t been drinking tea at that moment, because he surely would have choked.

“What? You’re going to leave? But the deadlock mission is just next week!” He said, panic fluttering in his chest and several alarms drowning out all his rational thoughts. Ana laughed, shaking her head.

“No, of course not so soon!” She explained, putting Gabe’s worries at rest. “But I would like to leave after the mission. I just don’t think this is the right place for me or Fareeha anymore.” She added, taking another sip of her tea.

At least she wasn’t bailing, but that didn’t stop Gabriel from being upset. Was Ana really just going to leave? Gabe had known the Amari for so long, it didn’t seem real that they might not be there to back each other up anymore.

He was silent for a few moments as he contemplated voicing his objections, before he decided support was what his friend needed most right now. A nod was all he gave Ana, not really wanting to meet her gaze.

Gabriel couldn’t relate from past experience, but he understood the reasons for the Captain wanting to leave. Unlike her, Gabe didn’t have a child to think of. Someone who needed him for food and money and shelter and hugs. Actually, that sounded like Jack. Yet children weren’t Strike Commanders with twenty years of army experience, three bodyguards whenever out in public, and thousands of posters dedicated to them.

Still, Jack’s no nonsense, unintimidated persona was pretty much a stranger to Gabe. He was lucky enough to only see the side of the Strike Commander who loved puppies, always wanted strawberries and cream on his pancakes, and never let Gabe go to a conference without giving his outfit a proper check to make sure the colours matched and his tie was done up properly.

Gabriel hadn’t thought about retiring, he probably wouldn’t have any reason to for many years to come. He didn’t really want a child to raise, he had never been good at dealing with little toddlers and five year olds. It had been a struggle just looking after Fareeha whenever Ana was busy, and Gabe just couldn’t hang out with little kids for more than a few hours, let alone eleven or so years until they were somewhat bearable. He was much happier hanging out with Ana’s daughter now that she was twelve, because there were some new qualities that came with her being smarter than a goldfish; Gabriel was now actually allowed take her to the practice range (they only used fake weapons, but she was still ecstatic about it every time), and he could play his old favourite video games with her, and she wasn’t quite as much of a general nuisance as she used to be. He still hated how she chatted away about guns and fighting non stop - though it was slightly better than if she was talking about, say, ponies or whatever - and how she complained when he wouldn’t do her basic math problems for her, and when she would ignore him when he told her to do chores of any kind, but at least she could look after herself a bit better.

“Where are you planning on going?” Gabe asked, pushing away the sadness that came with the realization that if - well, when - Ana left, he’d not only lose one of his closest friends, but one of his closest friend’s little trouble maker of a child. He could still visit them, and Ana would probably come back to catch up, but Gabriel would miss both of the Amaris when they said goodbye.

“I don’t want to leave America, for sure. If I recall correctly, Fareeha’s Father is back in Canada, so she might make a scene about visiting him in the holidays, but it can’t be helped.” Ana’s grimace at the mention of Fareeha’s dad worried Gabriel. There had been a less than civilized end to their relationship, but he supposed it was worth it if they weren’t unhappy anymore. Fareeha hadn’t really talked about her dad much, at least not to Gabriel, so he assumed she didn’t mind that her parents were separated.

“And, of course, it’ll be much easier to visit you and the others if you’re only a few states away. Plus, you might need me.” Ana added, a gleam in her eyes. Gabe chuckled, reminded of the countless times Ana had saved his life. Hopefully he wouldn’t die without her, but it was always a possibility.

“Yeah, alright. Tell me what you’ve decided after the mission, and you’d better talk to Jack about it.” He said, starting to settle with the idea that Ana wouldn’t be around for too much longer. At least she wasn’t bailing on Deadlock.

~~

“I know, Jack.” Gabriel said, frustrated with the strike commander. “The UN is on your back again, I get it. Don’t worry. We’re going to take down Deadlock, and help as many people as we can.” He said, voice confident as he smiled at Jack. Cornflower blue eyes stared back, filled with worry and doubt, and even regret, which confused Gabriel.

“No. We can’t help them, the UN has specifically ordered that anyone affiliated with Deadlock be jailed or executed. Gabe, they’re murderers and terrorists, and we’re putting a stop to their organization once and for all.” Jack said, glaring back down at his tablet. Despite his harsh tone, he didn’t really seem very sure about it. Yet, even just hearing such cruel accusations made Gabe’s eyes widen in surprise. No-one had said anything about what was going to happen to Deadlock. He’d assumed they were rescuing the gang, not completely destroying it.

“What? Seriously? We have to lock hostages and prisoners away? Force women and children into jail cells? They’re not all criminals by choice, Jackie, we can’t just make them suffer for being trapped in a gang they hate.” Gabe argued, placing a hand on his husband’s shoulder. It wasn’t fair to force people to pay for crimes they didn’t commit. Like, really? Just because they got stuck in a gang where the only way out was death, they had to suffer a life of jail - or no life at all?

“I have specific orders from the UN. I can’t fight them on this, Gabe. Overwatch can’t afford to give those people the help they need, and there’s nothing I can do about it.” Jack’s sigh was filled with pain and defeat, making Gabe’s heart ache. Surely that wasn’t true? Jack was the strike commander, he was in charge. Just because Deadlock had come back before didn’t mean it would this time. God, the UN probably passed it off as saying ‘there’s nothing wrong with being extra safe’ or some bullshit like that. There’s something wrong with being ‘extra safe’ when you force hostages - who are mentally and physically unstable - and god damn _children_ to rot in jail or even _die_ just because you can’t be bothered to help people who need you. 

“You _can_ do something about it, though! You’re the strike commander, you command the _entirety_ of _Overwatch!_ You make the decisions, Jackie. We need to help them.” Gabriel insisted, desperate to change Jack’s mind. He refused to make those people suffer if he had a say in it.

“No. I can’t do anything. We can’t help them. It’s not my decision to make.” Jack’s cold words froze Gabriel. He was going to let those people suffer because he was too fucking wimpy to stand up to the UN? What happened to the ray of sunshine? The golden boy who always wanted to help? The brave strike commander who earned his place with years of experience, who spent months tracking down gangs, who worked tirelessly to stop rogue bots, who always stood up for what he believed in? Where was Gabe’s Jackie?

“I’ll talk to you later. You leave for the mission at six tomorrow. Remember, your orders are to capture every elite member of the deadlock gang, and kill if you have to.” Jack said, turning to leave. Apparently Gabe’s Jackie was gone.

~~~

Gabe nodded to his team. This was it. They had been dropped off a little way out of the city to remain inconspicuous - now there were Overwatch soldiers and vehicles surrounding the building and the local police were nearby. It was Gabe’s call when each team would attack. Ana was leading one, Gabe had his, with Reinhardt with the third. Spare weapons and soldiers had been lent to Overwatch by a sponsor of sorts, who Gabriel didn’t remember the name of. Holding his breath, Gabe cleared his throat, pressing the button to speak.

“This is Reyes, we’re going in in 30 seconds, I want group A going after the main building and mine is heading for the cells. Remember Reinhardt, all of your team are capturing as many people as you can, but please try not to kill anyone. Amari, I want your group to set up your position now, you know the drill. Over.” He said, tense with anticipation. It had taken a lot of work to set this up properly, guards had been sniped and with it being the middle of the night they had been the only ones awake, so there weren’t any alarms going off yet. Complete and utter silence, no problems, meaning all that was left was to force through the walls and take out just about- well, all of them. Everything was set. Gabe blinked as he heard Ana’s voice.

“Roger that, we’re ready to go. I can see Reinhardt’s team, he’s fine as well. Over.” She said. That set some of Gabe’s worries to rest, but he was still crackling with tension. As the seconds ticked down, he slowed his breathing, preparing.

After a painfully long minute, the timer flashed 0:00, and Gabe spoke again.

“Go time.”

Immediately everything sprung into action, his team quickly broke down the door to the hideout, and they were inside. Automatic alarms started going off, which had been expected, and Gabe ordered half of his team to go after the higher ups. They sprinted down the corridor, the selected leader equipped with a tablet - which had a map, and a list of all the known leaders of Deadlock - and quite a few spare soldiers by his side. Gabriel was left with his own group, the rescue team, and he barked at them to spread out and find prisoners. There was a different list for his team, of all the hostages to look out for, many people having reported missing relatives or friends. With luck, they’d be able to evacuate everyone on the list, and anyone who hadn’t been reported missing yet.

Gabe and two other soldiers split off from their group, while other trios went searching down different corridors. They’d planned this thoroughly this time, every corner, every room - everything was right where they expected it to be.

Gabriel was about to tell the two soldiers with him to start checking the identical doors all down the hallway, when he was interrupted by a Deadlock soldier emerging from one of the closed doors. Gabriel was shoved sideways into the wall, stretching out his hands to only just catch himself, grunting with the impact.

He turned to face his attacker, and just a glance told him everything. This guy was unarmed, but so was Gabriel - he’d dropped his shotguns in the haste to save himself from the wall. The two Overwatch soldiers Gabe had by his sides just seconds prior were now fighting furiously with a few other Deadlock guards, one of Gabe’s agents barely escaping a disgusting knife coated with dried blood.

The Deadlock soldier rushed at Gabe, stupidly not even thinking about the fully loaded shotguns the Overwatch agent had dropped, simply choosing to pin him against the wall, attempting to strangle Gabriel. He found it a bit hilarious, honestly, because if he’d been put in the exact same situation against one of his own, he’d probably be dead by now.

Pushing his arms up between the Deadlock soldier’s, Gabe forced the hands away from his neck, and swiftly kneed the man in the stomach, forcing the idiot to the ground as he yelled in pain.

Gabe dived for his shotguns, pointing one at the guy’s head momentarily, before Ana’s words this morning pushed into his thoughts, interrupting what he was about to do. No killing. God, and it would’ve been so easy, too. The guy looked pretty useless for now anyway, and a quick glance at his two soldiers told Gabriel they had won their own battles, and they were triumphantly handcuffing the Deadlock guards. Gabe grabbed his enemy by the arm, dragged him over to his Overwatch teammate, then continued on his way down the hall. He wasn’t going to waste time arresting idiots, he had prisoners to rescue.

To interrupt Gabe’s search, another guard stumbled out of a room, and he merely had to throw the groggy soldier at the wall and kick him in the shins before he collapsed on the ground, leaving Gabriel wondering how useless this gang could get. Then he remembered the horrific bloodbaths left behind by their assassins. God, the assassins…

Gabe hurried towards the place where the cells would be, hoping his mental map of the place was up to speed. He eventually got to what definitely looked like prison cells, rooms of concrete with bars for windows. Opening door after door, Gabe was becoming increasingly horrified to find them empty, and in awful states. There were scratches on the floors and walls, as if people had been dragged away, and a few blood splatters sent Gabe’s mind spinning. Where were they? Had Overwatch already cleared the place out, passing him by while he fought the guards? Gabe was terrified of the thought of living in these conditions, and even more afraid of what had happened to the people that used to.

Gabe flung door after door open, there weren’t anymore of the guards around, thank god, - there was no point guarding cells impossible to escape from - but Gabriel was still cautious.

He was wiping at his eyes, trying to get his bearings, when he heard high pitched yelling from down the corridor. Ignoring the cells he hadn’t checked yet, Gabe followed the sounds. A woman, it sounded like - and a child.

Shoving open the door, Gabriel paused. A skinny, crying young woman was pulling at the arm of a young teen with hazel hair, a red bandanna around his neck, and a cowboy hat he clutched tightly when he saw Gabe. The woman turned around, eyes filled with fear.

“No! Don’t hurt him, I can’t let you!” She yelled, dropping the kid’s arm and moving to stand in front of the child. Gabriel stood still, pointing his shotguns at her.

“You’re under arrest for association with the Deadlock gang.” He said, glaring at her. It wasn’t one of his best lines, but it would do. The woman nodded quickly, not even bothering to object.

“Yes, I know. That’s fine, but you can’t take me away from Jesse. I- I need to stay with him, I’ll do anything. I’ll help you, even! Doctor O'Deorain, I know him and his experiments. He’s doing a bunch of illegal shit, I can tell you about it! But you can’t make Jesse go to jail, or die, or be punished. He’s not a criminal.” She sounded frantic, desperate not to have the kid hurt. Gabe was surprised at how ready she was to comply. If she was telling the truth, then she couldn’t also be a prisoner, because from past experience it was concluded that no-one but the higher ups knew anything about the mysterious Doctor O'Deorain.

“How do I know you’re not going to kill me?” Gabe snapped. She probably had a weapon on her, and if he put his guns down for a second he could be a goner.

“Because if I kill you one of your buddies will show up and murder me, then take Jesse away.” She said, fearful tone containing no uncertainty. Gabe glared at her, then with one hand he lowered his shotgun, the other still aiming at the woman, to talk into his intercom.

“It’s Reyes, I need backup. I’ve found a woman who needs to be arrested, she might be armed. She’s with a child. Over.” He said, hoping someone would respond. However, the woman looked utterly horrified when he mentioned she could be a threat.

“Hey, hey, no! I don’t have any weapons, I swear! I’ll leave and go find one of your soldier friends. If you want to talk to Jesse, that’s fine! But you can’t hurt him.” She said, hands up as she stepped to the side. Gabe shook his head.

“Stay where you are.” He said simply, not bothering to elaborate. The kid looked terrified, and Gabe couldn’t watch his back while tending to a traumatized child. He breathed a sigh of relief as one of his agents told him she’d show up soon, but he didn’t take his eye off the woman.

“Who are you?” He asked. She seemed so attached to this kid, but Gabe didn’t know why. He couldn’t be hers, Deadlock would never take in a mother _and_ a child. Plus, she looked really young. The woman frowned, glancing at the kid. Or, Jesse, as she’d called him.

“I’m Holly. Holly Tevanay. I work with Doctor Sean O'Deorain, he’s in Talon. He created the assassin you knew as ‘Viper’, who used to be my… Friend. I helped, kind of, so I know what’s coming.” She said. Gabe took a few moments to take that in. He’d heard of Sean O'Deorain, the mad scientist who’d killed countless people with horrendously unethical experiments. He’d created monsters, modifying genes and giving cybernetic enhancements to poor prisoners. The doctor had gone under the radar for the past few years, but apparently this was where he was hiding. Viper was also someone Gabe knew of. She had murdered many Overwatch agents and allegedly tackled Los Muertos, forcing both organizations to back away from Deadlock. She’d been used in a plan to destroy everything standing in the way of Deadlock’s world domination, but it seemed like the whole thing got put on hold due to her demise at the hands of a gang from Japan. Gabriel never knew the true story, it was always different depending on who you asked. He even would have thought the creature was a myth, if he hadn’t been unfortunate enough to see the aftermath of a few of her attacks.

“Why do you care about that kid so much?” Gabe asked, glaring at Holly. She gulped, pain flashing in her eyes.

“Cass- I mean, Viper- she looked after him for ages, before she became that- that thing, and she told me to take care of him when she had to be erased, and-” Holly cut herself off, tears streaming down her face. She sobbed and wiped her eyes, but the tears continued as she went on.

“I have to make sure he’s safe. She couldn’t know who he was after she became Viper because then she could have had a seizure or some shit because of trigger words-” The woman paused, choking on a sob. “It’s my fault she got turned into Viper, and it’s my fault she even got captured in the first place. It’s all my fault.” She sounded utterly defeated, weeping as she buried her face in her hands.

Gabriel frowned, not sure what to do. If all of that was true - which, judging by the tears, seemed likely - then she was probably utterly traumatized, and so was Jesse. Gabriel felt a flame of anger flicker into action when he realized this was exactly why Deadlock needed help. These people suffered everyday. They were completely destroyed by what happened here, and Overwatch was just brushing them to the side. Since when was Gabriel’s beloved organization so cruel? Jack was making a mistake… 

Gabe’s thoughts were interrupted when a soldier walked into the room, and he glanced back, only just fighting down the urge to break their neck when he realized it was the Overwatch agent who’d answered his request for help. She glanced at him, and he nodded towards Holly, who the soldier approached carefully. Holly held out her hands, and the agent quickly grabbed them both, handcuffing them behind Holly’s back. Gabriel supposed it was a good thing the Deadlock member had become so vulnerable, as she wasn’t really a threat anymore.

“She has valuable info about Sean O'Deorain. Don’t let her die. There might be some grunts down the hall, I had to fight off a couple of idiots.” Gabriel lowered his shotguns as the agent began to leave, nodding at his words.

“Don’t hurt Jesse!” Holly yelled as she was taken away, Gabriel staring after her. There was a pause, Gabe processing the situation, before he blinked down at the child left cowering on the floor.

“Hey. I’m Gabriel Reyes.” He said, crouching down to smile at the kid. Jesse just looked bewildered. Gabe guessed he would have to continue the conversation himself. “What’s your name?” He asked politely, keeping his distance from the kid. Getting too close would probably scare him, and just because his protector was unarmed didn’t mean he would be too.

“J-Jesse. M-McCree.” He stammered. After a few seconds he seemed to come to his senses, glaring at Gabriel. “G-Get away from me, y-you f-fucking- uh- guy!” Jesse said, anything but scary. Gabriel frowned. This kid was in shambles. He seemed maybe twelve or thirteen, and looked awful because of what Gabe assumed was hunger and lack of sleep. Jesse was afraid, as if he thought Gabe would attack him at any given moment.

“I’m a part of Overwatch. In Overwatch we don’t hurt people, we help them. I’m here to help you, Jesse. I’d really like it if you’d let me.” Gabe said, calm tone seeming to soothe Jesse a bit.

“My Ma told me stories about heroes in Overwatch.” Jesse murmured, looking at the floor. Gabe smiled, holding out his hand.

“Do you want to tell me about them? If you come with me, we could meet other heroes in Overwatch.” He suggested, praying he wouldn’t have to hurt this kid. Jesse looked up, uncertainty in his eyes, but an unmistakable gleam of trust, and hope.

“Do you know Jack Morrison?” Jesse asked, taking Gabe’s hand. Gabe nodded, and Jesse gasped. Standing up and putting his shotguns in their holsters, Gabe listened to his intercom for a moment. There were reports of arrests and a few inevitable murders, but it sounded like the action was dying down. Turning his attention back to Jesse, Gabe blinked as the kid asked more questions.

“Could I meet him? Do I get to be apart of Overwatch? Like, will you teach me how to be a hero?” He stared up at Gabe, who shrugged.

“Sure, I might. Though, I’m not really sure Overwatch is the best place for you. Or me, even.” He said, suddenly overwhelmed by the awfulness of the situation. Jack really wanted people like Jesse to go to jail? How could Gabe support that? How could he be a part of an organization that wanted this kid to suffer?

“Oh, that’s fine! Could you still teach me cool fighting techniques? Or could we- Could I have some food? I-I’ve always wanted to eat ice-cream.” Jesse said, excitement sparkling in his eyes, even when he glanced away nervously. Gabriel chuckled softly, leading Jesse down the quiet corridor. The mission was over. He’d taken out the guards, arrested a high priority target, and saved a child. That was good enough for him. And he wasn’t going to stand for the Deadlock choice. He knew he couldn’t completely change Jack’s mind, but he wouldn’t let Jesse be arrested, or die. He was just a kid, and Gabe really liked him. With Holly gone Jesse had lost probably the only person who cared about him, and his entire gang was completely destroyed, but he was still positive. The least Gabe could do was get him that ice-cream. But he vowed he’d do all he could for Jesse, no matter what it took.

“You bet, kid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what an oof


	4. Fareeha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> out of deadlock, into hell lmao

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Fareeha stood on her tiptoes, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. Ana patted her on the shoulder, unable to say anything as she listened intently to the phone glued to her ear.

Smiling, Fareeha left, closing the door behind her. Lena was her best friend, she had been for the past few months, and this weekend they had agreed to go hang out in the park. Not much happened at the park on such calm days like this one, but they could still play frisbee or sit and eat junk food or go to the arcade.

Fareeha was proud of herself for making such a great friend like Lena, since back in Overwatch there wasn’t really anyone around Fareeha’s age for her to talk to. That had sucked, being unable to go out to movies, or text friends, or tell secrets, or even just have something to talk about at dinner that her mother didn’t already know about. But Fareeha had been without proper friends for twelve years, so she was used to it.

Actually, a few weeks before the Amaris had moved, a boy showed up. He looked like a cowboy and Gabriel said he was about Fareeha’s age, and she had started to think that maybe living on Overwatch headquarters wouldn’t be so bad, if she could have a friend. But in the end she hadn’t really talked to that kid, and her mother had still decided to move away, so it was whatever.

~

Catching the disc easily, Fareeha passed it back with a quick flick of her wrist. She hadn’t grown up in the most normal of environments, but she had still managed to perfect the art of frisbee throwing. Jack had taught her, he said he got a lot of practice from chucking paperwork onto his desk. Jack and Gabriel had always made Fareeha laugh when they talked about how lazy they both were. They actually seemed to be pretty hard working, but when they weren’t in meetings - or talking to the media, or on business trips, or literally achieving world peace - they had always been ready to settle down on the couch with the Amaris and just eat chips and watch TV. That, or they went out into the small garden area and played games. Fareeha missed the commanders, they were like her family. There was a bond her mother shared with the both of them, and they’d always loved Ana and Fareeha as if they were related. Almost like two uncles. Two interesting (incredibly gay, extremely intimidating, terrifyingly buff, and horrendously uncoordinated, but still super awesome) uncles.

“You alright luv? Seem distracted.” Lena’s voice broke through Fareeha’s reminiscing. She looked up, and the brit’s worried gaze stared back at her. Fareeha hadn’t really accepted that she wasn’t going back to Overwatch. It kind of just felt like a holiday. A really long holiday. She hadn’t talked to Jack, or Gabriel, or Reinhardt, or any of the other agents in like a month. They’d called up Ana every so often, but Fareeha had been out of contact with everyone. She had been expecting to eventually go back to the HQ and tell them all about her school, and her friends, and the house, as if nothing had changed. But it hadn’t happened yet. It was starting to get too real. She wanted to go back and pretend it was just a fun trip away. She wanted to go home… 

“I miss Overwatch.” Fareeha said blankly, sighing. Lena frowned at her sympathetically.

“I get that. I miss London. Can’t go back though, belong here now.” She replied. Fareeha didn’t think that was the same at all. Lena still lived with her family in their little white and blue house a few streets down from Fareeha’s. The egyptian hadn’t just lost her old house, she’d lost contact with her friends and family. She’d lost after mission parties with Reinhardt cracking jokes and singing karaoke. She’d lost pink lemonade made sickeningly sweet because Gabriel mistook ¾ a cup for 3 - 4 cups of sugar. She’d lost training in the weekends, when she could show up and kill a bunch of bots just to see them magically come back to life.

Here was terrible. She didn’t understand parenthesis, she didn’t know what a simile was, she’d never been to a movie theater… Fareeha didn’t know how to be a normal teenager. But she did know the difference between a lieutenant and captain. She could take out an enemy five times her size, she had the aim of an experienced sniper, she knew how to disassemble a Phoenix25 Automated Helix Drone, she had memorized every emergency generator location for building 26…

Fareeha knew nothing about living a normal life. She’d watched movies, and TV shows, but they couldn’t be real. In the past month at her school there had been a total of zero unexpected musical numbers, nobody had fainted in the middle of assembly, and no-one had been bullied for their sexual orientation. And no-one had died, either. Or gotten pregnant - as far as she knew. Fareeha felt like a stranger in regular high school, unprepared for the distinct lack of stereotypes around it she’d expected to encounter. She missed Overwatch, and everyone she’d left behind. Putting her hand up, Fareeha caught the frisbee, biting her lip.

“Right. I guess I belong here now too. I just miss everyone. Reinhardt, Jack, Gabriel… Even Torbjörn. And Brigitte. I’d give anything to go back to the practice range, too. Just to say hello to the training bots… They always said hi back.” She smiled down at the frisbee, memories dancing through her mind. Lena walked over to Fareeha, smiling comfortingly.

“It’s alright, luv. I’m sure you could visit them this summer. Or they could come see you. In fact, maybe you’ll get to go on the telly! Your mum is a bit of a legend, after all. Captain Amari, formerly second in command of Overwatch before she retired to look after her star child Fareeha. You’re her daughter, I’m sure people would interview you. Maybe you could give me a shoutout!” Lena said jokingly. Letting out a quiet chuckle, Fareeha nodded. 

“Yeah, okay. If I ever get invited to talk to the press, I’ll tell people how awesome you are.” Fareeha agreed, smiling at her friend. She felt a bit better. Lena was right, the holidays would come eventually, and Fareeha’s mother would definitely want to visit their friends back at HQ. There’d be lots to talk about.

“Great! Right, ‘Reeha. Ice-cream? Or a smoothie? I hear there’s a new place open, something about scary berries or whatever.” Lena said, already zipping the frisbee away in her school bag. Fareeha grinned at that.

“Sure, let’s check it out.” She said, picking up her own bag and starting down the path.

~~~

“Fareeha, you are my daughter. I need to tell you something very important.” Ana’s voice was solemn and serious. Dozens of thoughts flew through Fareeha’s mind, as well as a million and one questions, but she forced herself to stay calm. Quietly sitting down at the table, Fareeha silently waited for the news.

“Gabriel has decided to leave Overwatch.” Ana said, frowning. Fareeha paused for a moment, thinking. Okay. That was bound to happen eventually. It might not be forever, either… Fareeha nodded, not really getting what was so bad about that. If Gabriel wanted to leave, he could. Overwatch would still be waiting for Fareeha regardless. Just because you founded something doesn’t mean you have to base your whole life around it. Wait, if Gabriel wasn’t stuck at the HQ anymore, then maybe-

“Will he and Jack move here?” Fareeha asked, suddenly hopeful. It’d be great to hang out with them again, she still wanted to learn more about Overwatch’s policy on pizza Fridays, and she’d yet to fight one of them seriously. Jack and Gabe always went easy on ‘Reeha, and she wanted to actually _fight_ better, not just _feel_ better.

“No.” Ana murmured quickly, a sigh escaping her. Fareeha’s eyes widened. Well, she supposed this wasn’t the best town for former Strike Commanders and super soldiers. They might go somewhere important, like New York or LA. Those were important cities, right? Anyway, just because they were leaving Overwatch didn’t mean her mother had to be so serious.

“So where will they be living?” Fareeha asked. Ana shook her head.

“Well, I mean- Gabriel is moving here. Jack is not.” She explained. Fareeha swallowed, a volcano of confusion and worry erupting in her mind as Ana went on. “Gabriel went to Deadlock, and he found that child. I introduced you to him, remember? Jesse McCree. You see, Gabriel has chosen to adopt him and leave Overwatch. Jack is being stubborn, and… They are no longer with each other.” Fareeha’s mother explained it carefully, and ‘Reeha stared at her. Jack and Gabriel split up? _What?_

“Why? Don’t they love each other anymore?” Fareeha asked, anger poking through the bubble of fear and confusion she was trapped in. Surely Gabriel didn’t want to adopt a kid? Why couldn’t he just come and look after Fareeha? Ana loved going out to movies and partying with friends back in Overwatch, normally after successful missions or for birthdays, and whenever that happened Jack and Gabe had been ready to look after ‘Reeha if they had spare time. Well, she supposed her mother wouldn’t be away anymore, and Fareeha was almost old enough to look after herself… Okay, maybe it would be good for Gabriel to adopt a kid. But why wasn’t Jack part of that? Surely they should look after a child _together_ , especially one from Deadlock?

“I think they do love one another still. They mean too much to each other for them to really give up their feelings, but… They have decided other things are more important right now, and I suppose they just don’t have time for each other.” Ana shook her head softly, clearly struggling to understand it herself. Fareeha clenched her fists.

“But why is looking after that boy a problem? I lived in Overwatch for twelve years! It’s absolutely fine to live on the headquarters!” She argued, refusing to accept this was happening. Her mother glared at the phone in her hands, scrolling through what Fareeha assumed were texts from one of them.

“Jack has claimed he doesn’t want a child from Deadlock on the HQ. I told him it would be fine, but he doesn’t trust my judgement, or the child. Even worse, he doesn’t trust Gabriel. His own husband…” Sighing, Fareeha’s mother put down her phone. “Gabriel is going to buy a house. Here. So, we’ll just… Wait for that, I suppose. I expect he’ll stay in a hotel for a while, then find a place to live. I told him he should enroll Jesse in your school, so I want you to make friends with him.” Ana said. Fareeha nodded slowly. Gabe wouldn’t just adopt any kid, so Jesse was probably at least tolerable.

“I’ll try. As long as I get an explanation from Jack as to why he’d do this.” She said, trying to smile. She loved Jack and Gabe, and they loved her and her mother almost as much as they loved each other. They were Fareeha’s family, she didn’t want them to leave each other.

“Very well. I’ll get him on the phone tomorrow, and you can lecture him all you like.” Her mother said, beginning to smile. Fareeha was worried about Jack and Gabriel, but it seemed like that kid Jesse was more important than their relationship. That was saying something, so Fareeha was interested in meeting him. Well, meeting him again. Maybe all she could do to help right now was be a good friend to him, like her mother wanted. Either Gabe or hopefully Jack would realize how stupid they were being eventually, so Fareeha had nothing to worry about… Right?

~~~~

“I know who ya’re. We’ve met.” The boy said, not meeting Fareeha’s eyes. She smiled, trying to look friendly. She understood why he wouldn’t be particularly excited to hang out with her, but she had to at least try to be nice to him.

“Yes, we have, but it’s always nice to meet again. Would you like to play some video games?” She asked, glancing at her mother. Ana nodded her permission, then lead Gabriel to the living room so she could talk to him. Jesse shrugged, which Fareeha took as a yes, so they wandered upstairs.

Fareeha’s room was painted robin’s egg blue, with a faded dark blue rug covering almost the entirety of the long forgotten grey carpet. She had her bookshelf, her bed in the corner, and a large pc on her desk. Jesse stared around her room, looking rather shocked.

“What’s up? My room isn’t that special, is it?” Fareeha asked, giggling quietly. Jesse had genuine awe on his face, and after a moment of watching him, the reality came crashing down on the Amari. This kid wouldn’t know what a normal bedroom looked like, he hadn’t had one for at least a very long time, or possibly ever. No wonder it was such a strange sight for him.

“It’s all so… Fancy, I guess? I mean, ya got a computer, and a bed with a really nice mattress, and you got a bookshelf…” Jesse really did look like a regular kid, he had normal clothes if you didn’t count the bandanna and the hat, and he had a normal haircut, and he also looked much better fed than when Fareeha had first met him. But, she realized, besides from physical appearance, Jesse really was far from ordinary.

“I guess it is, huh? I don’t really think about it that much… You’ll get stuff like this too, when Gabriel buys a house for you two to live in.” She said, turning on her computer. Jesse nodded slowly, going over to look at her books. They were mostly fictional, with a few old picture books she remembered fondly, some comics, chapter books… And a couple of dictionaries, thesauruses, and encyclopedias she didn’t read. Jesse inspected each title carefully, and he didn’t dare touch any of them, simply leaning in closer to study their bindings. As Fareeha typed in her password and started up a game for him to try, she tried to imagine what it was like for Jesse. He didn’t know any of this stuff, he was a stranger to many of the things she constantly took for granted. How was she supposed to be his friend if she had no idea what went on in his mind?

“You wanna try this, or watch me play it first?” She asked, catching the cowboy’s attention.

“I dunno how ta play, so you’d better do it.” He said, glancing at the computer before going to stand behind Fareeha as she got into a game. Fareeha grinned at Jesse, and began to tell him about the characters and the mechanics of the game. He listened intently, nodding occasionally and commenting on graphics and plotline. Fareeha decided she wouldn’t mind being friends with the cowboy. He was impressed by the simplest of things, and she found it easy to make him laugh with stupid jokes and puns. She gave herself the task to teach Jesse all she could, and help him become a regular person. Though definitely not an ordinary person. He was too unique. Fareeha was going to be Jesse’s friend, she owed it to him. And her mother, as well as Gabriel. They were all counting on her. She wouldn’t let them down. Though she might have to teach Jesse how to play all her favourite video games first… 

“Y’know, he talks about you a lot.” Jesse said, interrupting Fareeha. A glance at the time told her they’d been in her room for about half an hour. The Amari looked over at the boy, attention pulled away from scrolling through the cosmetics items she’d been showing him. She gave the cowboy a questioning look, and he quickly continued.

“Gabe. He told me lotsa stories about you. For a while I thought you were his kid, but you weren’t with him ‘cause you died or somethin’.” He explained, looking away. Fareeha was a bit surprised. She wasn’t particularly shocked that Gabriel talked about her sometimes, but to Jesse? The Amari grinned slightly, kind of flattered. Gabe always said he couldn’t wait to get away from her, but apparently that was a lie.

“Well, him and Jack are kind of like my uncles, I guess. Mum’s their really close friend, and I’ve known both of them for my whole life. I grew up with them.” She told him, forgetting the game completely as she swivelled her chair to face Jesse properly. He raised an eyebrow, clearly not quite understanding.

“Yeah, ‘bout that- Who _is_ Jack? I mighta met him, or seen him, the name’s familiar - but I really don’t know who he is.” He murmured, frowning. Fareeha smiled and grabbed her phone, pulling up a picture of her posing with the blonde and his husband.

“He’s the strike commander of Overwatch! Him and Gabriel are in charge, they give orders and sometimes do missions. They’re all about fighting bad guys and keeping the world safe! One day I’m going to be a soldier too, and I might become a super soldier but I don’t really know if that’s legal anymore, but anyway, I’ll get to fight alongside them to make the world a better place, and- and I’ll help them both to… to…” Fareeha trailed off, sadness and frustration swelling in her heart.

“Well, Gabriel isn’t in Overwatch anymore. And I don’t think Mum wants me to join anyway.” She muttered, glaring at the picture of Jack. If he’d decided to adopt Jesse with Gabriel then they’d both be in Overwatch, teaching Jesse how to be an agent, and Fareeha would still have them waiting for her. She looked up to see Jesse nodding slowly, seeming to know what she meant.

“Well, I think Gabe really misses the Jack guy. I ask ‘bout him but he just always shoots my questions down. Thanks for tellin’ me somethin’. Y-You really are like their kid.” He said, smiling. Fareeha grinned back, feeling a bit better.

“It sucks that they’re not really together anymore. I’m sure Jack would have loved you, but he’s kind of just… Being an idiot right now. It might be because of your thing with deadlock.” She said gently, noticing the hint of sadness in Jesse’s hazel eyes.

“Yeah, guess it didn’t work out that way. At least I’m not actually in deadlock anymore.” He murmured, putting his hands on his hips triumphantly. Fareeha nodded enthusiastically.

“Definitely! It could always be worse.” She agreed, turning back to the game after a moment.

~~~

“No way, luv! I’d never do that to a kid, even if they really had replaced me!” Lena said firmly, putting her hands on her hips. Fareeha smiled, relieved. Jesse and Lena were her closest friends, and she was glad the brit was so accepting of the cowboy.

“Well, he _hasn’t_ replaced you. You’re _both_ super important to me.” Fareeha had been worried they wouldn’t get along, but Lena’s happy-go-lucky energy and Jesse’s dumb jokes went well together, and the two had bonded. No drama, thank god.

As the two girls sat in the park, enjoying the shade under the oak tree, Fareeha wondered if this was what it was like for her mother all those years ago. She’d often heard the tale of when Gabe and Jack first met, Ana introducing them for some training thing and basically forcing them to pair up. They’d apparently both hated each other at first, resenting the other for being so close to Fareeha’s mother. By the end of the hour, however, they were too busy flirting and talking about the best way to kill a person to remember their dislike for one another.

Of course, Lena and Jesse wouldn’t be flirting anytime soon, because not only would Fareeha vomit immediately, but Lena was super gay and Jesse seemed to be a stranger to love altogether. The Amari supposed flirting would be replaced with sharing bad jokes, though that was just as bad…

Regardless, Lena and Jesse got along well so far, which was much better than what Fareeha had expected. That meant she’d succeeded in making the cowboy feel welcome, which she was proud of. Gabriel and Jesse had moved into a house a week or so ago, and Jesse had started at Fareeha and Lena’s school at about the same time. Next year they’d be going to high school, actually, which was exciting. Jesse was currently having special teaching to help him catch up with everyone else, so he’d probably be continuing that as well. Fareeha had needed a tutor a while back, but even in Overwatch she’d gotten a somewhat decent education, unlike Jesse. She pitied him, having to put so much time and effort into studies, but he didn’t seem to mind that much. In fact, the cowboy seemed very enthusiastic to learn, which surprised Fareeha at first. She guessed it made sense though, for him to be excited to finally get the opportunity to know things, and be able to work out problems for himself. At least he wasn’t refusing to do school work, which Fareeha still wished she could do to this day, no matter how easy it got to understand as she learned more.

Anyway, she was thankful she’d been able to help Jesse settle in, and Lena had been very good about a new friend to turn their besties duo into a trio. It was nice to know Fareeha could count on Lena to be supportive.

The Amari had promised to help Jesse paint his room sometime soon, and the brit had been ready to join them too. The cowboy was still debating the colour, though. Lena wanted electric blue, Gabriel hoped for forest green, and Ana had suggested white, grey, or black, to be more modern. But Fareeha liked red, to match his bandanna. Well, it was more an orange than red… Actually, the more Fareeha thought about it, the more she wondered if perhaps just orange, or maybe yellow would work better.

Jesse also wanted a desk, which they had decided to paint white to match his bed frame. So, orange walls and maybe red or yellow carpet with white accents for the room? She should write that down…

Fareeha wanted to paint her own walls again, but with a picture instead of just one colour. She’d been wondering about just putting a giant bird on it, blue as well to go with the theme, but her mother had shut down the idea completely, saying Fareeha would regret it. She doubted that, but Ana might be right. The older Amari normally was, so for now her walls would stay their pale blue.

Sighing to herself as she rested against the oak tree, realizing she should really sit differently lest her posture become that of an old woman’s, Fareeha decided that things wouldn’t be so bad for the time being. She had to admit that would be true even if Gabriel and Jack didn’t work out… Though she was still going to do everything she could to change that. Regardless, she and her mother were happy, Jesse was settling in, Lena was as supportive as ever, they had a new favourite smoothie place... Things were looking up for Fareeha. Finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uwu


	5. Sombra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ya yeet skeet almost at present day lets go bois

Sighing, Sombra pushed aside the thought. No, these people would probably be the same. They’d meet her, they’d like her, they’d learn about her past and all of her problems, and they’d say goodbye. It always happened, and she was getting sick of it. But no matter how hard Sombra tried, the stupid caretakers wouldn’t let her live on her own. It wasn’t fair. Seriously, why couldn’t she just get her own apartment? Yeah, she wasn’t an adult, but she was responsible, and she could probably get a job. Or steal money. She’d do fine on her own, the laws really needed to change if they wanted to keep up with the 21st Century’s kids. Sombra didn’t need a family. She had herself and her computer, and that was good enough for her.

Okay, honestly, Sombra didn't want to live by herself. But it was better than getting her hopes up over a nice family only to have all her wishes and dreams crushed into nothing more than dust because they’d never accept her for her record. Yes, she was _technically_ working with the Los Muertos gang at one point, but she had never really been on their side. And even though Sombra had stolen quite a few times, it was just petty theft. Kind of. She’d never steal from her own family, at least.

At this rate she’d never get a family though, so perhaps she should forget about that promise to herself. Might as well rob them blind before they kick her out, as they inevitably would, right?

Sombra sat on her bed, feeling sorry for herself for what felt like hours but according to the radio on her bedside table was only about seven minutes, before she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” She asked, immediately getting up. Sombra had made it vital for people to knock on her door and introduce themselves before entering her bleary room, or else she had every right to attack them and claw their eyes out, since it was self defense. She didn’t know if that argument held up in court, but it seemed to get the message across. The woman who answered, her social worker, sounded quite happy.

“Hey, Sombra! Just me! Gabriel Reyes is here, and his son. They’re waiting to speak with you.” She called, thankfully not opening the door. Sombra hated it when people just walked into her room, it was her personal space, and she felt like it got covered in invisible dirt whenever other people wandered in and touched all her stuff.

Walking to the door, Sombra opened it slowly, not reacting to the kind smile of her social worker. As usual, she’d get to sit with the family for about fifteen minutes while the woman buggered off, and then they’d make a decision if they wanted to look after her for a weekend, and if that was successful, which it never was, the idea was that they’d eventually adopt her.

As Sombra followed the woman down the corridor, she couldn’t help but feel hopeful. She was trying to train herself to stop that, but this could change her life, and her optimism was too strong.

When the Mexican entered the living room, her social worker disappeared down the corridor, probably going to her office to drink more horrifically bitter coffee. On the blue couch sat a dark skinned man with a scruffy black beard and a dark violet long-sleeved shirt with black jeans. Next to him was a kid maybe a year older than Sombra, with messy hazel hair, an orange t-shirt, blue jeans, a red bandanna and a leather cowboy hat. She was instantly intrigued, as these people didn’t seem anything like the other families she’d met. No wife or husband. A single father, and his kid who didn’t look anything like him, besides the friendly grin.

“Hey there, Sombra. I’m Gabriel Reyes, it’s nice to meet you.” The man said, standing up and holding his hand out to her. She paused, blinking up at him, before she shook it, and he returned to the couch while she went to sit opposite them.

“Howdy.” The boy said, tipping his hat in greeting. Sombra couldn’t help but smile at how ridiculous he looked, but she stayed silent.

“Says here you got a criminal record, bud.” Gabriel said, holding up her file. Sombra was surprised at his poker face. Most people were shocked by that - in fact, Sombra was a bit impressed he knew. Her Social worker didn’t tell people unless they asked or were considering serious adoption, as she legally had to before they made that final decision. But it wouldn’t have come to that yet, so this man had to have gone seeking for that information.

“Yeah. Stole some bracelets.” Sombra muttered, glancing away. She had stolen a lot more than that, actually, but they didn’t need to know the details.

“Aw, sweet! Ya know, I once stole a lady’s necklace, a guy bought it off me for like-” The boy started, but Gabriel cleared his throat loudly.

“Jesse. I told you, crimes are not something to brag about. You shouldn’t be proud of bad things you did in the past.” He said sternly, though there wasn’t really any heat to his voice. Sombra blinked. Maybe she had more in common with these people than she thought.

“Well, I was with Los Muertos gang at one point, but I didn’t like them at all. I just- couldn’t survive without them, you know?” She said in a rush. After a second she was a bit shocked with herself for being comfortable enough to bring it up. She felt awkward after she said it though, as these people probably didn’t know what she meant at all. But interestingly enough, Jesse’s eyes sparked with interest, and Sombra felt like she’d actually just made a connection.

“I get what you mean! I was lucky to get outta Deadlock, because Gabe and Overwatch helped me. I gotta say, being a regular person is much more enjoyable than being a gang member.” He said, grinning. Sombra smiled back at him. Gabriel spoke next, holding a piece of paper out to her.

“This is my house. There’s a spare bedroom for you, which you can paint any colour you like. You’ll live by my rules, but your own conditions apply.” He said as she took it. A plain white room with a dresser and a bed with some old blankets, which Sombra assumed she’d be allowed to replace with new - hopefully purple - ones if she decorated the room.

Along with the photo of the bedroom, there was a picture of Jesse posing next to a birthday cake in their kitchen, and their living room had a large flat screen TV and a console. It all looked very nice, and Sombra could easily imagine herself living there.

“Would you like to stay with us for this weekend, Sombra?” Gabriel asked. The teen was surprised neither of them had questioned her name, as most people did as soon as they heard it. Sombra’s original name was private, and it was annoying when people refused to call her by her new one. It was a nice change to not have to explain it to these people. Though they’d probably ask about it later.

“Sí, I’d like that. Thank you.” She said, gracing them with another smile. Sombra was excited now. She could actually have a shot with these people. They _got_ her. They understood the gang stuff, and the crimes, they knew why she’d done it all and they accepted it. In fact, Jesse seemed to like her more because of it. Well, if he was the first person Sombra had met that knew what her life had been like, maybe she was the first person to somewhat understand him and his time in Deadlock. She decided to ask him about it later, as Jesse had probably been there for the downfall of Deadlock a couple or so years ago, and she was very interested to know how he managed to end up in this little town with a cool dad and a cool house.

As Gabe and Jesse started to chat with her about the whereabouts of their house, as well as what they planned to do for fun in the weekend, Sombra wondered if her luck really was changing…

~~~~

Twenty days. Sombra had been officially adopted twenty days ago. It already felt like years...

“Naw, I didn’t get one neither.” Jesse said, staring at his forearm. He had asked Sombra if she had been marked by Los Muertos, as that was tradition for most gangs. She hadn’t, she would never let them ink their disgusting ‘logo’ into her skin. Jesse apparently didn’t get a tattoo or a stamp from his gang either.

“Holly told ‘em they should wait ‘til I turned 13. Day came around, they scheduled it to be right after the doctor’s experiments were complete. He was workin’ on some kinda bulletproof skin modification. Creepy as fuck, I dunno what happened to that… Anyway, thankfully Overwatch did their huge raid before he finished, and I never got the tattoo done. I woulda been terrified if it had, prob woulda gotten infected and given the doc an excuse to saw my arm off.” He said, smiling despite the serious nature of the conversation.

Sombra nodded, giving a murmur of agreement to settle the conversation. She was laying on the couch, propping herself up against the armrest as she glanced at the time. Gabe was supposed to be making dinner, but from what Sombra had heard a bit earlier he was currently on the phone to Ana. Sombra had actually gone to the Amari pet shop just a few days ago, and it was quite nice. The teen had already met Fareeha before that, but it was good to be introduced to her mother as well.

Sombra was really enjoying her new life, because the days of just watching YouTube videos all night and skipping class or sleeping all day were behind her. She actually liked Gabe and Jesse, they treated her like a person. She wasn’t a tool, like she had been to Los Muertos, and she wasn’t a dumb little kid, like she had been to all the social workers. To them she was tough, and she was worth listening to, and she was apparently nice to be around. It made her really happy to be accepted so easily into these people's lives.

The Mexican was still trying to decide what purple she wanted her room to be. Jesse asked for berry, and Gabe had suggested eggplant or indigo, but Sombra was thinking lilac or magenta. Or just regular old purple. That one shade you couldn’t give a specific name, it was just _purple_. She’d gotten a nice ruffled duvet and matching pillows for her bed, purple too. Jesse and Gabe had quite quickly learned about her love for the secondary colour, and Gabe had suggested they buy her some nice new purple clothes, as the ones she had were mostly second hand random t-shirts and jeans. Jesse told her she should dye her hair purple too, which she liked the idea of. Maybe just half of it though, as she’d always thought it would be cool to get a side cut… 

Sombra looked up as Gabe entered the living room. He smiled at both of them, putting his phone in his pocket. Sombra liked that Jesse and Gabriel smiled so much, they always looked so happy just to see her. It made her feel good about herself, though it was such a simple gesture.

“Right, kiddos. You guys want pizza? Or pasta? Something italian?” Gabe asked, glancing at the quiet TV. There was some game show playing, Sombra hadn’t been paying attention to it. Jesse stood up, stretching.

“I’m down for pizza. As long as I get to knead the dough.” He replied, letting out a yawn. Gabe chuckled, grinning as Jesse walked past him to the kitchen. The man paused, looking back at Sombra questioningly. She was intrigued by Jesse’s want to cook, as she didn’t pin him for the homemaker type.

“Pizza’s fine with me.” She said, smiling. Gabe nodded.

“Wanna help make it?” He asked, which somewhat surprised Sombra. Help? Cook dinner? No-one had trusted her to make food before. She actually really wanted to, so she got up and followed Gabe into the kitchen.

~

Laughing, Sombra shook her head. “Pa, could you hand me the basil?” She asked, putting down the pizza sauce covered knife. There was a pause, and she glanced at Gabriel, confused at the lack of any potted plant in her hand. When she realized what she had said, Sombra quickly put a hand over her mouth, averting her gaze. She called him ‘pa’. Gabe wasn’t her dad. Twenty days wasn’t at all long enough for a stranger to become your father, why had she said that?

Yet maybe Gabriel thought twenty days was just long enough, as he smiled at Sombra, looking a bit touched. She stayed silent, taking the basil plant he eventually passed to her. Jesse grinned happily beside her, continuing to knead the dough expertly. As Sombra picked the leaves from the plant, preferring to take the large, lusher green blades, Gabe cleared his throat. _Oh no oh no oh no oh no,_

“Kid.” Gabe said firmly, stopping Sombra in her tracks. She turned to look at him, nervous.

“It’s okay. You can call me whatever you like. Even an idiot, since I am one, sometimes. Or Commander Reyes - that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. But that isn’t exactly familiar, which I want us to be. Because we’re a family now.” He said, smiling brightly at Sombra. She opened her mouth to reply, but felt a bit speechless. After a few seconds of contemplation, she simply nodded, and held eye contact for a few seconds longer, then turned back to the pizza to carefully place the leaves over top.

Sombra’s heart felt funny. Warm and fuzzy, with a dash of relief at the response. Family. She used to be repulsed by that word, but to be considered a proper family member of Gabe and Jesse, even after only twenty days of being adopted, was kind of a dream come true.

As they eventually moved on, Jesse beginning to crack more horrendous jokes, Sombra continued to come to terms with the fact she now had a dad of sorts, and a brother too...

~~~~

Sombra grinned, adjusting her headset. She liked these people. Not only were they excellent at the game, but they were really optimistic, too.

“Don’t listen to that drongo, Skullz. We _get_ it, Lú, you’re a great healer.” Mouse said, sharp words said with an affectionate undertone. Sombra enjoyed listening to their friendly banter, it was clear they knew each other quite well in real life as well as in game. Actually, D.va sometimes sounded like she was talking to an audience, which made Sombra think she might be streaming, but it hadn’t yet been confirmed… 

“You’re not too shabby, Skullz! Ooh! What if we we invite her to our group? What do you guys think?” D.va asked. The way she spoke seemed kind of unnatural, like a TV show host. Yeah, okay, they were live. But to who? Was D.va a popular streamer? How many views did she get? Was Sombra supposed to be particularly flattered that they were considering inviting her to their group? Frog, who Sombra was pretty sure was actually named Lúcio, spoke up.

“Sure, why not? If you’re down with that, Skullz.” He sounded a bit nervous, but not unfriendly. Sombra took a few seconds to mull over the idea - did she really want to get caught up with a streamer? Was she going to queue with them and have all her skill just drain away? Did they actually want her to join their group, or were they just trolling her for some idiotic YouTube video? Sombra didn’t have answers to any of these questions, and there was only one way to _get_ said answers.

“Yeah, I’m down. Might be nice to have some people I can rely on for once.” She said casually, throwing slight shade towards the team she’d had last game. All of them had refused to play healer, and snapped at her for wanting to group up. She couldn’t exactly set up a healing station if her entire team thought being as far away from each other as physically possible was the best idea, but nope, it was her fault.

Sombra couldn’t say she particularly liked the communities she had to interact with just to play her favourite MMO games - somehow each group of players was worse than the last, no matter how unique the games she played were - but there were the occasional golden teammates, like the three she’d just found, that made it okay. Mouse, Frog, and D.va were at least bearable, and Sombra found herself actually excited to accept the group invite. It couldn’t hurt to make a few friends, really. And hey, maybe she’d get famous from D.va’s stream. Maybe. Probably not. Worth a shot, though…

~~~

Sombra stared at the mirror. A scared girl stared back. She buried her head in her hands, shutting her eyes tightly. Why? Why was it so difficult to just be _normal?_ Why had the universe cursed her? She was sixteen - seventeen soon - and that meant she’d spent more than a decade and a half being a complete freak.

It was like she’d always just been quietly content with herself. With not being regular. Because she knew it couldn’t last forever. She’d grow up, and she’d become social and smart and she’d help change lives and start a family.

But she didn’t want to.

Sombra didn’t want to be normal. All the normal people she knew were either cringy and tacky or horrendously _boring_. Sombra didn’t want that. She didn’t want to wake up and fit in, she’d never forgive herself. But it hurt to be different.

Her looks didn’t bother her. It wasn’t her past. All her problems were right here in the present, just waiting for her to give in and be consumed by depression.

But Sombra was stronger than that. Yet why did she feel so weak? Why did it hurt _all the time?_ Why did it hurt to look at herself in the mirror and acknowledge that _normal isn’t a thing?_

Sombra would never be normal. And she didn’t really know how to feel about that.

She did know, however, that she couldn’t do this. Couldn’t ‘come out’, so to speak. But how do you come out as- as abnormal? Just blurt it out at dinner then walk away like nothing happened? Have some weird teary-eyed confession and guilt people into being accepting?

Sombra knew her pa would never kick her out. He was the most loving man she’d ever known. He adopted two kids from two different gangs and two different equally disastrous criminal records, and he’d trusted and loved them with his whole heart from the moment he met them. No, Gabriel wasn’t the problem. Nor was Jesse, really. They’d love Sombra no matter what. Sombra herself was the issue. She’d boredly browsed tumbler enough times to know what she was. There was literally an entire flag dedicated to people like her, and a whole community ready to tell her how to deal with it.

But Sombra was scared, still. Of what, she didn’t really know. Of backlash? From who? Of being a disappointment? She knew no-one would really mind in the end, though. Was she scared of being an outcast? No, she’d been one of those her whole life. There was really nothing for her to be afraid of. The underlying fear couldn’t be brushed aside, though, even with logical reasoning.

Taking a deep breath, Sombra tried to steady herself. She could do this. Maybe not soon. But when she was ready to deal with everything, she’d tell people. It was fine. She’d already come so far. She could keep going, with the constant support from all her friends and family. They’d keep loving her. It was going to be okay.

Life was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that was depressing but also cute,, uh??


	6. Hanzo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yupp

Shuddering, Hanzo took another sip of the cold water. The nightmares still haunted him, even years later. Years since she died, but he still fell apart inside when he remembered. He’d never recovered, really. It was difficult to cope with loss even with loving friends and family, but all Hanzo had back then was his brother Genji and their Father Sojiro. And, obviously, those two had both been too busy trying to look after themselves to help Hanzo with his own pain, so by the time they’d recovered it was almost childish to still be completely broken about the tragedy, and they unknowingly forced Hanzo to hide his grief away. It wasn’t even that bad anymore, but the Shimada would still sometimes get moments when all he could think about was the scream and the blood and him having to hold Genji while his brother was just wailing and-

Hanzo took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, counted to ten, then glanced over at his clock. Four. Four in the morning. He was exhausted. He needed help. But he shouldn’t need help. He wasn’t weak. He was a Shimada, and that meant he was honourable, and strong, and help wasn’t something he was supposed to need. With anything. Especially not his mother’s death. He was _raised_ with tragedy. He was raised surrounded by pain, and blood, and suffering. It shouldn’t have affected him at the time, and it definitely shouldn’t affect him now. He had always lived with it.

But then again, Hanzo had also always lived with his mother right by his side, constantly letting him know he was strong and he was important. He missed her so much.

_God_. Hanzo was _seventeen_ , and he was being kept awake by things he didn’t give a second thought to when he was _seven_. He was _pathetic_. The Shimada shook his head softly, then stood up. He should do something productive. What had his father asked of him recently? Right. To make friends. The one thing Hanzo had never learnt to do. Why did he get taught how to fire five different types of guns, shoot an arrow with perfect aim from quite literally any distance he wanted, _and_ how to silently cut a person’s throat - don’t even get him started on the three most important things to have at a party (none of them family friendly) - but no-one stopped to think that maybe he should have the tiniest bit of knowledge on _basic human interaction?_

Glancing around his room, Hanzo decided it was smarter to just clean up a bit. The only problem was that his room was already spotless. Genji’s wasn’t, though, and the younger Shimada would be asleep until noon no matter how much noise Hanzo made, so he could just clean that instead. Cleaning was better than making friends. Hanzo didn’t need people to hang out with, he could hang out with himself. That sounded depressing when it was phrased like that, didn’t it? Well, maybe Hanzo could wallow in his loneliness while he tidied. Tidying was good.

And besides, if his father _did_ insist Hanzo find friends, he could just go talk to the nice french girl in the library. She seemed quite sophisticated. Well, sophisticated enough. Maybe. She could be a good friend, at least. That was just another ‘maybe’, though… 

~~~~~~

“No.” Hanzo said firmly, crossing his arms. His father stared doubtfully up at him for a moment, leaning back on the couch, before Hanzo cracked under his gaze. “Who?” He asked, glancing away to avoid the gleam of amusement in Sojiro’s eyes.

“I haven’t found the exact person, yet, but I plan for them to be much different from your last friend.” He said calmly, carefully keeping a neutral expression when he mentioned Amélie.

Hanzo blinked, glancing back at his father. He was still struggling with the topic of the first friend he made in America. The funny thing was that she wasn’t even American, she’d only left behind her french roots to get better at her dancing and fashion in a US University. Hanzo had liked the ballerina because of how similar she was to him, but that friendship hadn’t worked out well at all.

Well, that in mind, maybe someone who was quite a bit different from Hanzo would provide a more successful friendship. There was an old saying, after all, that ‘opposites attract’. Though, Hanzo didn’t really like the idea of having a loud and disrespectful slob as his ‘friend’. But then again, he supposed they didn’t have to be his _exact_ anti-doppelganger. Surely there was someone at least tolerable who could count as his ‘opposite’, right? Hanzo raised his eyebrows at his father.

“Well, I am sure if they are nothing like me, Genji will simply _love_ them.” He said snarkily, turning to leave.

Hanzo heard his father chuckle behind him, and wasn’t sure if he should grin or glare because the man thought that was funny. Despite that, he had to smile when his father called “Genji can only love those you despise!” as he walked down the hallway. Perhaps what Sojiro was suggesting wasn’t a terrible idea.

~~~

“This is a terrible idea!” Hanzo spat, hands on his hips. His father simply grinned at him, and the Shimada brother was more infuriated. Genji sat on his phone, not paying any attention whatsoever, as always, so Hanzo had to stand his ground on his own.

“Whyever would you think that, Hanzo?” Sojiro asked calmly, his smile the same he always used to use to manipulate business men into agreeing with him. When Hanzo was younger, he hated that it looked like such a genuine expression, but now he could see right through it. It was easy to know someone’s tricks if you’d spent years perfecting the very same techniques.

“Because not only is the man you’ve selected quite clearly an unbearable person to be around, but because _kidnapping_ him would be illegal!” Hanzo retorted, glancing at the papers again. The man didn’t seem that bad, just slightly immature - which made sense, he was barely eighteen - but the Shimada hated the idea that someone so _below_ him would have even the slightest bit of control over his and Genji’s lives. Not to mention Hanzo’s father planned to quite literally take the man out of his everyday life and flat out _bribe_ him into being the Shimadas’ _friend_ , without any prior meetings with the stranger.

No, the man himself wasn’t the problem. He had regular hobbies, he didn’t look strange - in fact, if he cleaned himself up a bit he might pass as handsome, a thought Hanzo wanted to push away - and he had a respectable father and a purple-loving sister and quite a few misfit friends. The man was normal. Hanzo was almost jealous, honestly.

But the problem was that Hanzo would have to _befriend_ and _spend time with_ this person, and the only way that was going to happen was if they literally kidnapped him. And that was horrendously illegal.

“But it will be worth it.” Sojiro’s simple answer had Hanzo raising an eyebrow, but that was all the older Shimada said. Would it? Would it really, _really_ be worth it? Hanzo doubted it. It seemed like a hassle, as neither him nor Genji even wanted to make friends with _anyone_ , let alone ‘Jesse McCree’. Not to mention to legal troubles that would doubtlessly litter such a friendship. But the way Hanzo’s father smiled, looking so pleased with himself for finding a way to get his sons a friend, it almost made Hanzo feel bad for doubting the plan. Almost. Not quite, as it was still completely insane. But Sojiro thought it would be ‘worth it’.

“I do not believe that.” Hanzo stated, holding his father’s gaze. He hated that the man always managed to make his son feel insignificant, even with just a look. Hanzo was an adult, why couldn’t he be treated as an equal to his father? Even worse, Genji was younger than him, but he wasn’t fazed by anything Sojiro said. It got infuriating sometimes. Why was Hanzo the only one ever bothered by all that went on in their lives? He was the one trying to do regular housework, he was the one to remind Genji about his education, he was the one consistently restocking their groceries…

Since they got to America, it was like Hanzo’s two other family members had just started letting go of everything. Now it was _Hanzo_ who woke _Sojiro_ up in the mornings. His father was so relaxed. Calmer. Kinder, actually, which was kind of nice… No, wait, this was still bad. Hanzo seemed to be the only one who _cared_. And it was frustrating.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll change your mind eventually.” Sojiro said dismissively, looking back down at his newspaper. Hanzo glanced around at his brother and father, both completely at ease in their living room. They didn’t care. Well, of course Genji didn’t, he hadn’t been paying attention. But he should have been.

Hanzo had to stifle a frustrated huff, instead exhaling as calmly as he could, before turning to leave the room. Once he was in the hallway, closing the living room door behind him, he leaned against the wall, putting his head in his hands as he tried to breathe. A Shimada did not let their fury show. They were strong, and they did not need to have childish fits to express anger. A Shimada was mature, and they would never let their enemy have any power over them. Hanzo was a Shimada. He was fine.

After a minute or two of calm breathing, Hanzo straightened up, letting his hands fall to his sides. He stared at the white wall in front of him for a few seconds, then turned away, going to the kitchen. He would not lose his temper, and he would not lose his honour.

~~~

Hanzo collapsed on his bed. Lord above. That - that _man_ \- was a struggle. Not only had the event of kidnapping another human being - who could so very easily call the police as soon as he woke up since there’d been no measures to take away his cellphone - been a completely stressful process to Hanzo, but Jesse had agreed to the trip to the aquarium. They went to the _aquarium_. And it was hectic, to say the least.

But despite Jesse’s bad jokes, and his somewhat questionable compliments, and his constant overwhelming barrage of _smiling_ , he seemed… Decent. He had a lot more depth than Hanzo had predicted. It was interesting, that such a happy-go-lucky person had actually been through similar struggle to the Shimada, what with being in a gang and going from a criminal to a normal teen. It was somewhat inspiring, that Jesse could be so cheerful. Like he didn’t want a single second to be wasted on sadness, or anger, or pain. He was admittedly quite funny, and even charming. And that was terrifying to Hanzo.

Groaning into his pillow, the Shimada gripped his blankets in his fists for a few seconds, trying to get all his anger and stress to just dissipate, before he relaxed. No matter how irritating - and confusing - Jesse was, Hanzo wouldn’t let it get to him. He sighed, sitting up. He had to make dinner, do the laundry, then make sure Genji went to sleep at a normal time, like he did every night.

And yet, after such an eventful day, Hanzo found that it sounded so easy to just crawl under his blankets and fall asleep forever. Was this what happened when people ‘went out’? Was this why Genji used to be in bed all day after one of those horrifically under-supervised parties? Well, that was probably more because he was lazy and had zero expectations to live up to, but Hanzo was beginning to understand why people said social interaction was exhausting.

But still, despite the temptation of a warm bed, not to mention the promise he could sleep for twenty hours straight if he really wanted, Hanzo knew he couldn’t ignore his regular duties. That just wasn’t possible.

Standing up, the Shimada was going to do his regular routine of wandering off to the kitchen to preheat the oven, when he glanced at himself in the mirror. His reflection wasn’t anything new, but it still felt like he was looking at a completely different person from this morning. His normally neatly tied up hair had quite a few strands loose, and he felt like his complexion was brighter, despite it being the same colour as always.

Hanzo bit his lip, gaze flicking down to his clothes. He briefly wondered why he felt so disheveled, considered asking his brother about it, but eventually decided to push it away. He was normal. Everything should be fine. He’d never had a problem with the way he looked before, his clothes were traditional, and much better than any of the tacky getups Genji wore. Jeans and t-shirts, all the time. Sometimes ‘neckerchiefs’, or tacky bow ties, or even flouncy hair accessories like huge fake flowers, or bows of brightly coloured ribbon. And of course there was the occasional set of cat ears decorating Genji’s bright green hair, which looked utterly childish. Hanzo still wasn’t sure how his brother managed to get such additions to even stay secured in his short, spiky, unbrushable crown of grass-like hair, but he tried not to think about it too much. It was Genji’s ‘style’, but the outfits were still strange. Hanzo much preferred his own clothes, even though Genji quite frequently reminded him how ‘stuck up’ and ‘like a really old samurai guy’ Hanzo looked in them. At least Hanzo wasn’t flouncing around in the flamboyant pieces of brightly coloured glorified rags Genji had labeled as fashionable.

And besides, anything in Hanzo’s wardrobe was much better than the horrendous outfit Jesse wore. A bandanna and a cowboy hat in this day and age was just plain strange, and Hanzo was utterly dumbfounded by how comfortable Jesse looked just being himself. He had bad manners, there seemed to be no filter between his brain and him speaking, and he looked completely and utterly like the typical american you saw in cartoons. Though he was overall not as intolerable as Hanzo had expected.

Shaking his head, Hanzo turned and briskly walked out of his room, refusing to give Jesse any more thought. Yet, when he walked past Genji’s door, the temptation to ask his brother about what he was feeling was almost too much. But then he reminded himself Genji wouldn’t give him any answers without laughing at him first, and quickly walked on.

~~~

Hanzo smiled to himself, giddily clutching his phone. He hated this. How Jesse made him feel. But he also loved it at the same time. It was as if with every smile, and every pet name, and every compliment the cowboy gave the Shimada, Hanzo was falling just a little more. He didn’t even understand his own analogy, but it was the only way he could describe it. Like there was a dark pit waiting for him to just tumble into it and consume him forever, but Hanzo _wanted_ to fall. He wanted to get lost in the warm fuzzy feelings, and the dreamy haze of happiness he felt just _talking_ to Jesse, and the occasional tap on the shoulder or grip on his arm. Hanzo was falling, but he still couldn’t place a name for what he was falling into. He could only describe it as pure happiness, but even that seemed like such an understatement.

“Brother! What’s for dinner?” Genji called from the hallway. Hanzo stifled a groan of annoyance, and put down his phone on his bedside table. He glanced over at the small swan statue on his windowsill, and rolled his eyes at it. After a few heartbeats Hanzo realized he’d just looked at a glass sculpture as if it were a person, and quickly stood up, trying to ignore the idea that he might be going insane.

Going to his door, Hanzo opened it calmly, staring at his brother with an unimpressed expression. Genji was looking down at his phone, smiling, but after a few seconds he turned back to blink up at Hanzo.

“Dinner?” The younger Shimada asked, smiling innocently. Hanzo suppressed the urge to snap at his brother, and simply raised an eyebrow.

“Why can you not make it?” He questioned, crossing his arms. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t extremely satisfied with the expression that blossomed on Genji’s face, the teen looking horrified at the thought of having to do something for himself.

“Wha- Are you saying you’re busy?” The green-haired boy asked, narrowing his eyes at Hanzo. The older Shimada shrugged, glancing away.

“Is it a crime to have other things to do? My life does not revolve around you.” He stated, keeping his voice calm. Hanzo wasn’t really all that bothered by the task of making dinner. In fact, he had been planning on doing it anyway, but he felt as if he needed to stand up to Genji. He didn’t appreciate being treated like a servant, though his younger brother wasn’t really doing anything wrong, and he knew it was never Genji’s intentions to belittle Hanzo. Yet it was kind of nice, to just be difficult for once in his life. What he wasn’t expecting, however, was the wide grin Genji gave him. The younger Shimada smiled up at Hanzo with a knowing look, eyes sparkling.

“Oh, you have other things to do? Those _things_ wouldn’t happen to involve _Jesse_ , would they?” He asked, his expression putting the Cheshire Cat to shame. Hanzo felt his cheeks heating up, but he forced himself to hold his brother’s incredibly amused gaze.

“I believe it is none of your business.” The older Shimada said, desperately hoping he wasn’t blushing, but knowing he was. Genji’s smile somehow got wider, and Hanzo wished he could sink into the ground and be away from this forever as his brother replied.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He looked so smug. Hanzo wanted to die, and he wanted Genji dead too. The murder itself would be relatively easy, but where should he hide the body? Perhaps he could just shoot Genji, then shoot himself so he didn’t have to face any more humiliation. Death was better than this, Hanzo was sure of it.

“ _But_ , I guess, just this once, I can make dinner.” His younger brother grinned up at him, then spun around and walked away. Hanzo stared after him in shock for a few moments, before he heard his phone buzz behind him. Did his brother just leave him alone? To go make dinner? _What_?

Slowly closing the door, Hanzo went to his desk, picking up his phone and staring at it blankly for a few seconds. A text, from Jesse. It made his heart skip a beat. He didn’t know why, though.

~~~

Hanzo was smiling. Of course he was. How could he not be? He was with Jesse. At a fair, of all places. And the view was beautiful. Not the fair itself, no- _Jesse_. He looked so excited, just to be there. Hanzo was silently very proud of himself for coming up with the idea to go to the event, and even prouder that he’d had the nerve to ask Jesse to go with him. The night was dark, and the breeze was cool, but the food trucks sold hot food, and Jesse’s smile was warm and bright. Yes, the lights were flashy and rather tacky, and the games and the rides were just a waste of money, but Hanzo didn’t really mind. He was here with Jesse.

The two stood in front of a new stall, and the cowboy was paying the woman for his turns. He was at eight prizes already, and there were still many more games for him to play. Everything was riding on whether or not he could get twenty - and it really was _everything_. Genji had suggested the bet. And what a bet. Hanzo was still not quite sure why he’d said yes. Both the Shimadas had crushes, and both of them had to own up to them if Jesse got those twenty prizes. Hanzo had agreed, thinking it would just be a bit of fun, but now…

Standing here, next to Jesse, watching the cowboy chuckle and glance back at him every now and then… It was a bit too real. They were just so happy being here together, but Hanzo could destroy it with just a few words. He valued his friendship with Jesse. He valued his friendships with all of Jesse’s friends. And if he told the American how he felt, it could all crumble to the ground...

Hanzo sighed, blinking down at the grass. Puffs of steam escaped him when he exhaled, a cool breeze picking up. He cared about Jesse. He didn’t want to ruin this. But he’d agreed. And by the looks of things, those twenty prizes were an easy task. Hanzo was scared. Terrified, even. But he couldn’t back down. That was cowardly, and he was no coward.

“Somethin’ on your mind, doll?” Jesse’s voice cut through Hanzo’s thoughts, and the Shimada looked up, blinking.

“Uh- Simply the bet that Genji made. I believe you will succeed.” He replied, smiling nervously. Jesse grinned, and turned back to throw another ball at the target. Hanzo watched, trying to ignore the anxiety fluttering in his stomach. He wasn’t going to back down, no, but that didn’t stop him from being scared out of his mind. Nervousness was always something Hanzo struggled with, but it was somehow worse around Jesse. And, interestingly enough, _happiness_ was also something the Shimada used to struggle with, but he got more of that with the cowboy too. He liked it. Kind of. It was scary, though.

“Next game?” Jesse asked after a few minutes, and Hanzo noticed he now had three more prizes in his arms. The Shimada chuckled to himself, then nodded at the cowboy. Well, he was doomed. But he still wasn’t a coward. That was something, right?

God, if only he hadn’t fallen...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp

**Author's Note:**

> feedback is always appreciated, if you see any problems feel free to comment and tell me


End file.
